


Shepard Danes

by Wolfreaper97



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Earthborn (Mass Effect), Multi, Sole Survivor (Mass Effect), Vanguard (Mass Effect)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:15:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 35,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25057549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolfreaper97/pseuds/Wolfreaper97
Summary: This story is about a character that was only a child when the Reapers first attacked Earth. She survives and I wanted tell her tale as she tries to live with life after the war. This is her growing up with Turians.I do not own all the characters or the world. The world and some characters are owned by Bioware and unfortunately Electronic Arts.
Relationships: Female Shepard/Garrus Vakarian
Kudos: 16





	1. Run

**Author's Note:**

> I have never done any fanfiction before and so I am sorry if I need to do some work on this!

My mother had finally decided to make a meal for my brothers and I. She had kept herself locked away when not at work; losing our father was hard on her. She was humming my father's favorite song as she prepared a meal for us.

My older brother was ten, my younger brother was four, and I was eight. My younger brother was playing with his toy cars and I was doodling a picture of my dog Ash as he lounged near the leg of my chair. His black fur shimmered in the places where the sunlight reached him.

To this day I do not even remember my full name. My mother just called me Max. "Max help Dameon set the table and Koby put your cars away," she ordered in a stern voice.

"Yes, mama," we all said in unison. I giggled before placing my drawing on the fridge with a letter "b" magnet. I then grabbed the silverware my mother had set atop the counter and I set them around the table beside where Dameon laid each plate.

"You put them on the wrong side, dummy!" Dameon scolded me referring to the forks, as he shoved me gently.

"Hey!" I protested almost dropping the one fork I still held.

"You're so stupid," he said rolling his green eyes.

"You're such a bully, Dameon! No one likes you!" I shouted at him and stuck my tongue out at him.

Our mother walked in. "Knock it off you two. Sit down and be quiet. It's time to eat," she said as she ladled food on our plates.

My older brother and I shared glares as we took up chairs at opposite ends of the table.

"Spaghetti!" Koby said excitedly as he jumped onto his own chair.

"Awesome," Dameon agreed flipping the bangs of his black hair out of his face.

I rolled my eyes and dug in with less enthusiasm. At Koby's insistence we were having Spaghetti again for the second time this week. Koby had bits of spaghetti in his blond hair before long.

As I poked halfheartedly at my meal we heard a huge explosion which caused the table to shake just before the concussion caused the windows to shatter and I was thrown from my chair by a huge force. I looked up as my mother sat up with glass embedded in her face. Koby had a large piece lodged into the eye socket of his right side; he screamed violently which my mother grabbed him and held him close. Dameon reached out to them.

I was across the room from them just watching in horror as suddenly my vision was filled with red light which caused the floor to start crumbling. I was being separated in an instant from my entire family. "Mommy!" I screamed in terror as they fell beyond my sight. They couldn't be alive after that kind of fall.

"Max!" I heard as they fell. I didn't have time to think or hesitate as I noticed the beam was coming back my way. I went with my first instinct, "run!"

I scrambled down the rubble without thinking and ignoring every fiber of fear I felt. I saw people screaming, dead bodies, and terrifying creatures resembling humans going toward the building I was now across the street from.

I didn't stop running even when the glass embedded itself in my skin and scratched my feet; blood started seeping through my socks. My sides hurt from the long-distance sprint.  
Suddenly a hard hand reached out and gripped around my arm. I grew wide eyed and screamed. I kicked at my attacker and tried to get free, but my attempts were futile.

"Calm down little girl! Please stop fighting or you'll get us killed," the woman who had grabbed me begged.

I heard her voice and I stop flailing and looked up. She had short black hair and dark soot covering her olive skin. Her blue eyes were afraid and caring. "Who are you?" I demanded.

"My name is Araya. Will you come with me?" She asked hurriedly. I then noticed a torn military uniform and her gun.

"Where are you going? We have to run," I shouted at her as I glanced anxiously in the direction the creatures were the last time I saw them.

"I have a shuttle that will get us to safety," she informed me.

"I can't. I need to run," I said anxiously. I was so terrified I wasn't seeing reason and her words were lost on me.

"Please! We need-" she began, but she was cut off by the fast-approaching sound of those zombie creatures. I tore myself from her grasp and ran down a side alley in the opposite direction of the terrifying sounds. I hoped they hadn't caught her and that I would be safe.  
1 month later..

There was no sound other than the constant thundering caused by those great beams of red that were searing through building structures like they were cutting cake. I felt as if I was walking through one of the Roman ruins I had seen in my older brother's textbooks. However, there were fresh human corpses and terrible monsters resembling humans and aliens patrolling the streets to look for humans to take away. The sky was always pitch black from all the smoke and blazes of fire were a constant companion.

I had somehow survived this long without help. I had avoided any fellow human contact, because how did I know that I would be safe with them? Wouldn't they just get taken like everyone else? Being on my own was easier because I was small enough to get into places that others couldn't and so I was harder to track or find. I relied on the few survival tactics my father had taught me during our camping trips before his death. Even with some knowledge I had about survival I felt hunger all the time.  
At the moment I was running quickly through tall grass late at night in a large field. I was attempting to be as quiet as possible even though I figured there weren't reapers this far into the country, yet. I was halfway to my destination when I suddenly heard a frighteningly loud feminine scream just meters from my current position. I dropped to my knees and inched forward. I was too curious for my own good. I peeked through the long stalks of grass and wooden fence to see the highway a good distance away. 

There was one of those "cannibals" lying dead on the street along with the fresh corpse of what I assumed was the same woman who had screamed. I didn't see a weapon near her, but the cannibal was obviously dead.

I wasn't foolish enough to stick around and check. It could just be a trap set by the reapers to lure nearby humans. I began to Sprint into the opposite direction when my backpack was suddenly gripped from behind and I panicked and almost screamed, but my attacker clamped a hard talon like hand over my mouth. I struggled as I felt and watched as the strange being carried me swiftly away from the corpse. Finally, I was released after what seemed like hours when we reached another abandoned house. When I was dropped I tried running away, but he kept a hold of my shirt.

"Let me go," I pleaded violently in a hissed whisper. I about attempted to shed my shirt when I realized I wasn't being attacked and I could hear someone breathing heavily.

I looked up to see a turian in damaged and worn silver armor holding my shirt and half collapsed beside me. I stood staring at the massive creature sprawled before me. There weren't very many aliens on my world, but here was one before me. "You're a turian... how did you get here?" I marveled at him. I wished he wasn't as dirty so I could see what color his face was.

Finally, he gave me an exasperated look as he spoke, "I just saved your life and all you have to ask is how I got here?"

"I didn't need help. I wasn't going to fall for the Reaper's trap. I was just leaving when you kidnapped me!" I replied snidely.

"There were husks inching their way toward you. You were lucky I was there, " he retorted. By now he had relaxed his weight against a wall in a sitting position and he let my shirt go just then.

"Thanks, but I'll be going now," I spat shortly. I tried leaving again. He leaned forward and grabbed me by the backpack and sat me near him.

"You're not going anywhere. You're stuck with me now," he informed me.

I crossed my arms in anger and slid into the corner away from him. He seemed just content that I wasn't trying to run anymore. I liked the idea of having company, however I didn't like having such a large companion that could paint a target on my back.  
The next morning, I was awoken when I felt myself being lifted into the air. Like last night the turian covered my mouth with his claws to prevent me from screaming. "How did you survive this long when you scream so loudly?" He grumbled as he carried me like a small child.

He lifted his hand when I realized I was not going to scream. "I didn't get picked up like a baby!" I complained.

"You're so small, you can't be that old," he said giving a once over with his eyes.

"I'm almost nine," I spat.

"Really? Hard to believe," he said shaking his head. "What's your name?" He asked without looking down a few moments of walking later.

I remembered my mom screaming my name as I watched her die. My own name would make me relive that moment every time I heard it. Why would I tell this person my name, anyways? "I don't have one anymore," I decided tell him.

"No name? I can't call you that," he gave me a worried look. "My name is Bruter. Give me any name and I'll call you that," he said shrugging.

I scrapped my brain for something and smiled when I decided. "Shepard! Call me that!" I joked.

He shook his head. "If you say so."

"Where are we going anyways?" I asked after a few feet of silence.  
"I need to find food, or I will starve. There is a dextro food farm this way. We'll be there by tomorrow."  
And so I traveled with a turian...

When will we leave here? I wondered. Unlike most places I had traveled so far there weren't as many bodies scattered across the floors and the glass was still intact in the windows. I examined a chocolate bar stashed behind a secretary's desk to see if it looked edible still. I decided to take a bite when suddenly it was ripped from my grasp by Bruter and he replaced it with a granola bar after I protested, "I was going to eat that!"

"You've been eating junk for the past few days. We came here to find proper food for both of us. You'll need it to stay healthy," he explained as he turned away to walk back to where he came from. I opened the stained wrapper and discarded it on the floor. I was glad I would not get a disapproving look from him for littering. The old turian was constantly criticizing my habits, but I was just happy to have a companion that was still alive after a day. It was even more odd that he was not human. He ate only half as often as I did.

"Will you die?" I wondered aloud. I clasped my hands over my mouth quickly when i realized what i had said. Stupid. He stopped and look down at me for a few moments.

"I'm scared to be alone too, kid. I promise I will try my hardest to stay alive as long as you do the same," he vowed after a few moments of silence.

"I will protect you, too," I replied with a devious smile; I walked past him, and he followed.

"How will you protect me if you can't fight and you're so much smaller than anything we'd come up against," he remarked as he glanced down at the remains of a child around my age. I often refused to look at the corpses. I would see them in my nightmares every night.

I thought for a moment and turned to look at him. "Will you teach me?"

"I will try. We'll have to be discreet as usual."

I turned back with a huge smile across my face. We eventually made it to a room where a large storeroom held large stockpiles of dextrose-amino food and I had to carefully read the labels of the food I loaded into my bag. Bruter explained that his food would make me sick and vice versa.

After filling our bags, we wandered deeper into the complex of buildings. this place had once been a resort for humans and aliens alike. We showered in our respective restrooms. I even found a new shirt to wear and I washed my other clothing garments under the same water I bathed in. I finished as swiftly as possible and waited a long time for Bruter to finish.

Apparently, I fell asleep waiting and he had carried me. I didn't scream this time which he looked relieved to see. I even got to see the vibrant blue and green tattoos covering his face. "I thought you were only supposed to wear one color," i commented at the unusual swirls of both colors.

"It's not polite to ask about a man's facial tattoos in my culture," he informed me without looking down at me. He even let me out of his arms for me to walk beside him. I didn't press him out of fear and kept walking silently beside him. He seemed aggravated at my silence. "The blue represents my clan whereas the green represents my wife's clan markings before she died," he admitted.

"I'm sorry," I replied awkwardly.

He seemed concerned now. "What happened to your parents, Shepard?" he asked plainly.

I had refused to visit the memory of losing my siblings and mother. I began to feel numb as tears streamed down my face. I dabbed aggressively my face trying to make it stop. We stopped walking in the middle of a interstate road where he chose to kneel down beside me. He placed a hand on my shoulder and told me, "it's okay to cry, Shepard. I won't judge you."

I was able to give him most of the details about what happened to them through my tears and sobbing. He held me close and listened until I stopped. he seemed to smile as he attempted to wipe tears with his coarse metal skin.

He let go, but still placed a hand on my shoulder in a supportive gesture. "It'll get easier, I promise. Maybe I'll help you find them when this is all over," he offered as he ruffled my hair.

i smiled without speaking. He took that as an affirmation and led me deeper into the countryside as far from the reapers as we could go.

Later that month he found a tattoo kit in the remains of a strip mall and despite my complaints he insisted tattooing the left side of my face with a similar blue ink that marked his face. My face was red for several days. "you're a true turian now like me," he had proclaimed sarcastically.

"I'm a human, though," I complained as I attempted to rub my sore face.

"Don't touch it, Shepard!" he hissed as he caught my wrist.

I frowned at him as he let go. "You have to let it heal. Tattoos won't heal properly if you mess with them. You want it to look good when it heals, right?" he used that parental tone to explain it to me.

I nodded and picked up the cream he had given to me to spread over the markings every few hours and clutched it closely to me. I was beginning to feel hope again...

After a couple months of wandering with Bruter I had grown attached to him and he doted on me like a father. I wasn't sure if it was because of his inevitable loneliness or if he truly did care for me. He seemed to enjoy our small training sessions and I always proudly sported the bruises I received from each small victory he gave me.

We were settled in a small house with a half missing roof just outside my hometown after the six-month period since the reapers began attacking.

I was awakened suddenly by unfamiliar sounds coming from the sky above. I looked wildly about in the darkness and noticed Bruter was glancing upward to the sky. I followed his example and there was a great battle happening in the sky between the reapers and thousands of vessels I would later recognize as all of the alien races Commander Shepard gathered under her banner.

"What's happening, Bruter?" I demanded in panic.

He seemed to smile as he lifted me onto his shoulders to give me a better view. He pointed to a fleet within the masses of ships and said, "those ships are turian. They're here to end the war."

"Shouldn't we be helping in some way," I asked eagerly and attempted to climb off.

He held me in place as he stood. "We can't do much right now, but we will start heading back into the city tomorrow," he answered. He held me on his shoulders as he sang very softly. I ignored him as I watched vessels from our side being obliterated and did not feel the same sense of joy Bruter was expressing.

The next morning Bruter was absent when I woke up with the sunrise. There was no sign of the Reaper ships in the sky from the night before. I searched for my companion for a half hour and there was no sign of him. I wandered toward town at this point and it was nearly noon when I spotted signs of blue blood. Panic started to set in and I raced forward.

Lewis-

It was another patrol run for me. The upper alliance brass was commanding us able-bodied Marines to go out among all of the ruins and search for life and make sure there weren't any other threats from the Reaper's lurking about.

It was a nice change to see the sun overhead as I traveled with three others. We had already found three individuals earlier that morning and by noon we were about ready to finish our patrol to go for some lunch. That is until I saw a a strange trail of blue and spatters of dried human blood leading in what used to be part of a strip mall.

I waved over my companions. "Look at this," I pointed out the trail.

"That's strange. Let's take a look," our leader, Shaffer, suggested.

I led the way and flashed a light into the building. It was quiet when a glint of metal was caught in the light. "I think someone's injured in there, boss," I told her before stepping deeper into the cramped space.

It was an odd scene I had stumbled upon. There was a giant mass of Turian collapsed in a pool of it's own blood on the floor. What was stranger was there was a tiny mangled human limb sitting beside him with even more of a human's blood mixed into the blue causing it to turn a purple hue.

"Christ," I breathed out and stepped out into the sunlight once more.

"What do you report, lieutenant?" my commander demanded.

"There seems to be a dead Turian," I informed her.

"Well we should take some pictures and Mark this location so our allies can find their man later. He might even have some identification on him, " she said.

She led the way back into the building and before I could enter the building, I heard her shouting for me. I ran in and nearly hit my head on the partially collapsed ceiling.

Shaffer was holding a filthy looking young child by the shirt collar when I entered. The feral creature appeared to be missing a limb. I assumed it was the one on the floor.

"Don't touch him!" The child screeched menacingly.

"Take it back to the camp so we can take care of this," she commanded. Shaffer looked furious and it wasn't until I saw a fresh stab wound in her arm that I understood.  
I lobbed the screaming child over my shoulder. All I heard was that they were begging not to be taken away from the corpse. I had to take short breathes to ignore how much the child stank as I neared our camp where they would be taken care of.  
Shepard-  
The stranger was silent the whole way and I was sobbing. How could they take me away? Didn't they see Bruter needed medical attention?

The moments leading up to this moment were blurry and I was trying to piece everything together in my head. I had found Bruter gasping for breath and a gang of husks attacking him. I raced in and attacked the nearest one with my knife. I was able to kill it with several strikes to it's head. Bruter was trying to focus the husks on him and I tried going for another when I felt my leg being severed just below the knee. In his desperation to fight off the husks Bruter had not aimed his omni blade properly. I watched in horror as it went through my left leg. He noticed and savagely struck at the remaining husks. He freaked and started apologizing frantically. I was stunned silent and I watched his blood pool grow larger on the floor.

I had never seen anything like it. I was vaguely aware of his last words and him looping a necklace over my head. "Please take this to my sister, Anosi. She will take care of you," he commanded. "Please hear me, Shepard. You have to," he begged through his own dying breathes.  
Fuck...  
"What did you find, Lewis?" I heard someone call out.

"It's a child believe it or not," the man carrying me replied back as he came to a stop.

I didn't see the other man's face, but I heard the disbelief in his voice as he asked, "how is that possible? Was there anyone else?"

"No, there were no survivors," he answered sadly.

Bruter was dead. I refused to cry in front of these strangers. This man had taken me from Bruter and taken me by force.

The soldier waved away his friend and carried me deeper into their small compound that consisted of my former school and the gymnasium next to it. There were dozens of people staring at me as I was taken past them.

He dropped me on my bum on the soft material of a hospital bunk in the gymnasium where there were several patients in various position on other beds. There was a woman looking at me with a hollow expression. She was terrifying to look at.

"Don't even think about trying anything," the soldier warned me.

I glared at him in defiance and crossed my arms. The doctor on staff noticed us a few moments later and came over to investigate. "Now who is this?" she asked sweetly.

I didn't say anything when the soldier spoke. "We found this kid out in the city on patrol this morning. They managed to stab commander Shaffer with a small knife so I would exercise caution around them, Mari," he informed her as if I wasn't in the room with him. He frowned while giving me a wary side glance.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head as if she didn't believe his story. "What's your name little miss?" she asked me. His eyes went wide in horror when she called me a girl.

"My name is Shepard," I told her after giving Lewis a particularly nasty glare.

"That's... unique," she commented awkwardly, before telling me, " you can call me Doctor Mari. May I look at your leg? I want to make sure it isn't infected."

I nodded in approval. My mother had been a nurse and my dad a physician. I had no reason to fear doctors that I knew of at the age of eight. "You can go ahead and leave, Lewis. She will be okay with me," the doctor told the soldier. He seemed quite displeased with the whole situation.

"Will you tell me why you stabbed his commanding officer?" she asked me a few minutes later as she was cleaning what remained of my knee with a wet cloth.

I fidgeted uncomfortably from the feeling of the cloth. " He was trying to take me away from my father. They left him there to die," I told her honestly. I knew now that he was dead before they had gotten there, but I really wanted to feel angry toward someone other than myself.

"They would've if it was possible and I think you know that. Just give Lewis a chance and you might learn to like him. He is not a bad person," she said with a warm smile. I nodded almost mechanically. "Your leg was cut cleanly and due it being cauterized it appears to be healing nicely already. I'll watch it closely and attach a prosthetic when you have healed enough to receive one."

"So, I'll get to run again?" I asked innocently.

". You'll be causing trouble again in no time," she promised. "Now I'll show you where you can find some clothes and get you a good bath."

It was evening when I was seated beside Lewis at a table with a tray of food sitting in front of me. I was wearing a very baggy jumpsuit and my hair was shaved down to only a few inches. I had had lice, matted hair, and I had been covered in blood and soot. Shaffer made Lewis my babysitter in his own words and was responsible for making sure I didn't make trouble or stab someone else.

I didn't bother feeling fussy over the food in front of me. I nearly shoveled it into my mouth. The one thing I loved about this place was a consistent supply of three meals a day. After a few bites in I was feeling quite uncomfortable with all the staring of the people around me.

"Why do they all look like that?" I blurted out.

"What do you mean?" Lewis looked at me quizzically.

"Why is everyone staring at me?" I clarified my original question.

"It's unusual to see a child survive for six months alone during the middle of a war. Many other children weren't as lucky as you Shepard. For many of these people they haven't seen a child since the beginning of the war," he told me as he glanced around the cafeteria.

I didn't like Lewis no matter how much time I spent with him over the next few weeks. He was always there. He reminded me of a cold unfeeling robot that spat out answers in a crude fashion. I had many questions and I had to endure his answers.

It was only a month when he informed me that we were going to be moving to another settlement across the river to get more supplies. I was to receive my prosthetic there since I was ordered to accompany Lewis everywhere.

I limped next to him as we traveled to this new place. "Do you think there will be any turians there?" I asked suddenly.

"Don't be ridiculous," he scoffed at my question and waved me away.

I felt annoyed and followed behind him. The settlement we had come to was situated in the alliance base at the eastern edge of the city. This was where my human father had worked before his death a year ago.

I managed to see only a fraction of the compound when Lewis forced me to stay inside his assigned dorm room to wait for him. He locked the door, and I noticed a window I was the perfect size to crawl through.

I was outside and on my own for the first time in a month. There were a few children here so I wasn't being stared at as I passed. People just glanced at my leg or my facial tattoos as I passed.

I came to a halt just outside another dorm where I heard shouting. I limped forward and saw a female turian. I was stunned to see long straight tattooed lines crisscrossing all over her face. I put a hand to my own face where I sported the same vibrant blue color.

"Where is my brother!?" she screeched.

I saw her surge forward and I stepped further into the building to see that the building wasn't being used as a dorm, but a morgue. On a table there was a familiar turian body lying there dead. This was where they had taken Bruter. It was at that moment that Lewis decided to find me.

He was coming into the building and I panicked and leapt forward. I crouched behind Bruter's body and the female turian.

"What is going on here?" She demanded.

"This girl. I'm so sorry for her disturbing your grief," he said as he stepped forward.

This was the moment I had been waiting for. I yanked the holodisk attached to a string around my neck. As he reached for my arm, I hit the play button and a holographic image of Bruter sprung for the device. Her eyes went wide, and Lewis was taken aback.

"If this message reaches you, Anosi, I am so sorry... When we were separated, I tried to return, but something happened; I found this human girl. I had lost all hope of surviving when I found Shepard and she brought me back from death. We had both lost everything and she made me feel the love for a child that I once felt for my own daughter. Keep her safe and I hope you come to love her as I have. May the spirits watch over you, Anosi. I will be watching over you both."

I watched as Anosi and Lewis remained motionless for a moment. It was Lewis who moved first. "How dare you!?" he snarled and reached for me to drag me away.

It was another talon like hand that changed my life once more. "You won't take her from me," the turian growled at the soldier.

"You don't have the right. She is a human child," Lewis began to argue.

I watched as Anosi raised herself to her full height and gripped both my shoulders and I was leaning against her hips which where bony and digging into my spine. I ignored the pain. "It was my brother's dying wish. You will not take her from me," she growled once more as she stood her ground.

I watched Lewis groan in annoyance. "This will come back to bite you. That child is human, and she is meant to be with her own kind. You have no right to her," he warned before turning away and leaving the morgue. I was alone with her.

She let go of me and I watched as she slid to the ground up against the table where her brother lay. "Lunnus is going to kill me," she groaned. I didn't know what to say so I hobbled over to where one of my crutches had been knocked out of my hand from being jostled around by the two of them. She watched me and was focusing on my missing leg. "What happened to your leg?" she asked after I stood.

"It was an accident. We were attacked by husks and I lost my leg in the process," I lied. I didn't feel like it would be a good idea to tell her it was Bruter's doing.

"And Bruter lost his life," she added glumly.

I felt a sense of overwhelming sorrow as I watched her. She stood after a while and wordlessly touched her forehead to Bruter's before covering his face with the blue cloth that was draped over the rest of his body. She began to exit the building and I didn't know whether I should go with her.

She stopped in the doorway and looked back at me and it appeared as if she wasn't going to say anything. "Are you coming?" she finally asked.

I felt a sudden rush of relief and followed her as quickly as I could. She walked as quickly as her brother and I had a hard time keeping up in my condition. She seemed to notice after a few yards.

"Did anyone tell you that you needed a prosthetic?" she asked as we stood in the middle of the street.

"That is why I was sent here from the other compound. I was supposed to get one," I told her.

"Very well. I will take you there now and we will meet up with my family later," she decided and headed in the opposite direction we had been walking just now.

She sent me in alone for fear that someone might find us being together odd. I was fitted with a new metal leg and I stumbled awkwardly as I moved with the partially cybernetic limb. I could even wiggle the toes as if they were my own. It was a dark grey material and I quickly pulled the pair of pants I wore over it to hide it from view.

"Is it done?" Anosi asked as I kind of limped outside. I nodded and she turned around to continue walking.

I raced after her and she seemed content that I was having an easier time keeping pace with her. I remembered the doctor's warning that I should take it slowly for a few days and decided now wasn't the time to inform Anosi.

We reached an area where several spaceships were grounded in a clearing. She headed for a bright yellow space craft that was quite large. It was large enough to hold a crew of about thirty. She told me to wait outside for a moment and I collapsed onto the ground when she disappeared through the open door. I pulled up my pant leg to reveal where the prosthetic met with my flesh and noticed some blood beginning to trickle around the intersection.

"What's this?" I heard a puzzled voice.

I looked up to see another male turian watching me. I quickly covered my leg and attempted to stand once more, but the pain forced me back down. "I was just resting for a moment," I attempted to lie as he moved closer.

"You must of just gotten your new leg. Did the doctor not tell you that you need to take it easy?" he asked as he ignored my excuse. He forced my pant leg back up over my knee and looked it over. I stared wide eyed as he worked. "It looks like you just scraped it a bit. You should be okay. Just don't get up and start walking again right away. I will allow you to stay here for a moment until my wife returns," he informed me.

"Are you Lunnus?" I asked suddenly. He didn't have the same blue lines on his face. His tattoos were a bright yellow like the ship I was leaning against.

"I am. Are you here to give me a message or are you a fan?" he affirmed.

I was confused at what he meant by being his fan. "Why would I be a fan?" I wondered aloud.

"So, you aren't here because I'm a spectre. Why are you here?" he speculated.

"Bruter left her to me. She is our ward," Anosi answered as she exited the ship with a set of clothing in her arms.

"This is unexpected," he said as he stood to greet his wife. They touched foreheads like Anosi had done to Bruter. Was this the equivalent gesture of affection as kissing was for humans?

"Are you mad?" she asked him.

"No. Are you sure this is what you want? Raising another child and one that is not like us?" he wondered.

She nodded in affirmation. I felt a sense of relief. This was my new beginning.


	2. Living After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard and her new family have just left Earth on Lunnus's ship. They are on their way to a Large Turian War Ship that is currently stuck in space with the Relays currently destroyed and it a state of disrepair. The whole galaxy is currently celebrating and mourning their losses. No reconstruction has started quite yet. It is too early for that.

I was in space for the first time in my life and I felt somewhat claustrophobic without some way I could escape if I had to. The ship was beautiful and it looked like we were swiftly swimming through the great blackness. There was thousands of bits of debris freely floating through space and occasionally I would see the frozen bodies bumping against the glass. I was huddled in a blanket on the couch staring out at the blasted apart star ships from the great reaper battle that had taken place here just a couple weeks before.  
I had seen the first body and I had screamed so loudly that my new father quickly held me in an embrace and I had broken out in tears. He held me as I wept and whispered, "It's going to be alright," and "Nothing will hurt you while I am here," and finally "You are safe now." Then he wrapped me in a blanket when I was calmed down, seated me on the couch I was on now, and went to retrieve some human-safe glass of hot chocolate. He had seen it calmed children in some old human vids that he had seen when he was doing some human parenting research.  
"This stuff smells appealing, and I hope I mixed it with just enough and not too much," he told me as he handed the glass to me.  
It was a nice warmth and he had used a lot, but that was okay with chocolate.  
"Extra is always okay with chocolate," I told him as I began drinking.

He relaxed on the couch beside me and picked up the remote to turn on the news. "Let's see if there is anything on the feed today," he told me nonchalantly. I finished the drink and set it on the table and wrapped the blanket more tightly around me.  
The one announcing the news was a salarian male. "These are tough times with so much destruction that the Reapers were responsible for and it was thanks to the great Commander Shepard and her crew for being able to bring the entire galaxy together and now the Reapers work with us rather than against us. Let us all take a moment to mourn the Commander's sacrifice and remember the millions of souls that were lost in this war," the salarian said and took a moment before continuing, "There is much to rebuild, and each race is making plans of reconstruction while the Krogan leader, Urdnot Wrex, continues to pester the council for more planet space for their new growth in population for the first time in centuries. Let us hope that the Krogan's intend to stay peaceful in this new era Shepard provided for us. We will rebuild this galaxy together. This is Admiral Kirrahe speaking for the salarian home world. Be safe everyone across the galaxy. We are in for more tough times ahead."

Kirrahe exited and the show went to commercial. "So, Shepard is dead? How did she die?" I asked in absolute confusion. 

"She sacrificed herself to the Reapers so she could take control of them. It was the only way that she could preserve the quarian's geth without changing all of us into being half machine." he told me.

"How do you know so much about it?" I wondered.  
"I have access to almost any records I wish to acquire. I am a spectre after all," he stated casually as if it was easy.  
"You are actually related to one of the members of Shepard's crew through your mother," he added.  
"Who?" I inquired in excitement.  
"Your mother's cousin is the great turian rebel Garrus Vakarian. We are on our way to meet with our turian families and some friends. There is a chance the legend might surface himself to see his sister if anything else," he told me.  
"If Garrus is there," Anosi spoke up from the other room where she had been the whole time. "Garrus will not want to mingle. And you will stay far away from his father, Lunnus."  
"I don't need that warning twice," he noted before turning to me to explain, "Garrus's father dislikes Spectres. He believes that rules and regulations are there for a reason and I do not."  
"Does that mean that I don't have to follow the rules and regulations, too?" I inquired with a devious grin.  
Anosi walked into the room with billowing black robes with accents of blue stitched into intricate geometrical patterns along the hemming. Lunnus's mandibles and jaw dropped upon seeing his wife. She was beautiful.  
He stood up slowly as if he might scare her away, she held out a hand to him that he grasped. "You are the most beautiful creature I have beheld even in such a grievous occasion," he remarked smoothly.  
"What is the occasion?" I wondered aloud.  
She seemed to smile and lightly touched her forehead to his affectionately as I had seen them do before. "We are bringing Bruter's body with us to the turian fleet where he can rest in peace and we can celebrate him among his family," she explained to me with a solemn expression. She was much more reserved now than I had seen her before.  
"Am I allowed to be there?" I asked her tentatively. I feared her rejection.  
"You are one of us now Shepard. You will be apart of everything we do as a family. Remember that," she told me as she stroked my hair affectionately.  
I smiled shyly when Lunnus spoke, "And you'll get to meet your brother as well."  
"Lunnus, don't overwhelm the poor girl," she said as she gave him a warning look.  
Anosi was already dressed, but she had relpicated a miniature version of her own dress and robes that she had worked for me over the past two weeks. I came out of the room she left me to dress in to show her.  
Lunnus was the one who was waiting for me. "Anosi went ahead to prepare Bruter," he told me.  
"Without me?" I began to sputter.  
I was shaking and I was having a hard time not crying and he knelt to get closer to my eye level and grasped my shoulders. I looked down at the gloves that she told me I had to wear.  
"I know it's hard, Shepard, but you need to be strong for me today. Your mother is counting on us," he told me with a reassuring grin.  
"Okay," I nodded. I was thinking about Bruter.  
"I promise that you will get to say goodbye to him, but you must be patient," he assured me.  
I felt anxious, but I had no reason not to trust Lunnus. He stood up in satisfaction and held out his hand to me. I took it and he guided me to the airlock of the ship. I was wearing small, heeled boots and trying not to stumble as I walked. "You look very pretty, Shepard," he told me just before the ship's airlock opened to reveal a new older turian and a very young turian who were both sporting the yellow tattoos.  
"Father!" the small one squeaked in excitement.  
I stepped back in bewilderment. "Liodus! I told you to wait with the others," Lunnus greeted him awkwardly. He was worried about the stress this much commotion would cause me.  
The older female turian was staring at me. I tried walking back into the ship, but Lunnus quickly grasped Liodus with one arm and me with the other. He and I were being hugged very closely to his chest face to face with one another.  
"Liodus this is your sister Shepard and vice versa. Be nice," he seemed to warn both of us before releasing Liodus. He held onto my shoulders as if I would bolt again.  
"What do you mean? I am nice," Liodus protested once he was able to step back and face us.  
I was thinking that he was speaking to me and I bit the inner part of my lip in nervousness. "I am pleased to meet you." I stammered nervously to Liodus.  
"Liodus take her hand and take your new sister to your mother," the older female commanded of him.  
He did not look angered and he didn't hesitate to grasp my hand at my side, and I was being led away. I looked back at Lunnus in panic. He just watched me leave and turned to chat with the female.  
"I will watch out for you now. You have no need to worry," he assured me as well.  
"Everyone keeps telling me that," I remarked. "As if I am going to explode if something happens. I can take care of myself," I said as I stopped in the middle of the new ship's corridor and tore my hand from his grasp.  
"We are just trying to make you feel welcome. Trust me, follow me, and I will never let you down Shepard," he vowed proudly.  
I placed my hand in his. I had made a similar vow to his uncle months ago. He would want me to coexist here.  
Four months ago...  
I trailed beside Bruter in a bit of a sour mood. "What will happen to us if this ever ends?" I asked him randomly as I glanced down at a equally as random human corpse. The corpses were getting rarer as we continued to travel together.  
"When is the question not if," he corrected, "Commander Shepard will stop all of this madness eventually."  
"Okay. So, when this is all over what will happen to us?" I asked again.  
"I will adopt you formally and you will be a turian citizen like me, I will bring you before my sister and you'll have your cousin Liodus. He is a very good kid and you two will become best friends," he answered optimistically.  
"What if they don't want me?" I asked after a moment of deep thought.  
He stopped and turned to me. "You are as much a part of me as you are human now Shepard. My family will accept you as long as you bear those markings."  
I tentatively touched the tattoos. "What is Liodus like?" I pressed further.  
"He has a lot of energy and is very smart. My sister tries to enroll him as many activities she can to satisfy him. You will never be bored," he said smiling.  
"My cousins and my brothers were all obnoxious. They always pulled my hair and called me names," I remembered bitterly.  
He sighed. "No one will call you names or pull your hair. Turians don't have hair to pull," he pointed out.  
"I promise to be nice to Liodus for you," I relented.  
"You'll love it Shepard. My family will welcome you with open arms. I will be with you even in death," he told me.  
"You'll be dead though," I shuddered to point out.  
"As my daughter you will have first rights which means that my armor belongs to you, but my body goes back to my platoon," he informed me.  
I looked at his armor that was in various states of ruin.  
"This armor isn't the set you'll inherit. My armor is pitch black with my clan's color. I haven't worn my armor since I served in the turian military as you will," Bruter said to me.  
"Do I have to serve anyone?" I asked in disgust of the word.  
"It is an honor, Shepard. And if you work hard you could be the first human child to become turian and rise through our ranks," he seemed to dream of my glory.  
"Did your daughter ever rise through the ranks?"  
"It doesn't matter now, Shepard. You are my daughter. Aliana is with the spirits now," he dismissed the question and began walking and thus ending the discussion.  
Now...  
"How old are you?" I asked Liodus as we walked.  
"I am nine and a half. You're eight, right?" He said looking at me.  
"I am almost nine," I tried.  
"When is your birthday?" He asked.  
"In June," I answered simply instead of getting into the details of the day or year.  
“That makes your birthday in a few days or weeks since it is the month of May, right?” he pointed out after a second. He was looking at me with an expectation of an answer that I didn’t exactly remember. I had no idea what day it was or that it was even May.  
“What day is it today?” I asked to try to trigger my memory.  
“Today is the 28th according to my omnitool’s clock,” he said reading it off the small glowing orange screen. I had never had an omnitool, but my leg ached at the memory of Bruter severing my leg with his omnitool’s built in heated blade attachment.  
We had stopped in the hall at this point as he seemed to be waiting for my answer. “I think my birthday was the first or something like that,” I told him grouchily.  
“How can you not know?” he seemed confused.  
I tried thinking about the question for a moment, but every time I tried to remember my birthdays from before. I tried remembering the balloons and the parties my mother would throw. Any detail of happiness. I was greeted by the sight of my mother and then my brother screaming. Red flashes of light that produced that menacing sounds the Reapers made were suddenly all around me and I began to hear the husks coming. Bruter was holding his hand out toward me and when I tried to reach-  
“Shepard! Are you alright!?” I was suddenly whipped back to reality by Liodus who was shaking me slightly. He had a look of terror plastered on his face.  
“What happened?” I wondered dizzily. I looked down. “Why am I on the ground?” I groaned. I stood as I spoke and rubbed my sore bum from the fall.  
“You seem to have fainted. Are you alright?” he asked as he gripped my hand tightly.  
“I believe so. I just can’t remember most of the pieces from before-“ I didn’t want to finish say before the Reapers destroyed everyone except me. Why had I been the one to survive? I felt worn out.  
“What is going on out here?” Anosi demanded as she exited the door that was a few feet from us.  
“Shepard fell, mother,” Liodus answered as she walked closer for her own inspection.  
“What were you two discussing?” She quizzed.  
“I passed out when I tried to remember,” I decided to tell her.  
“All I did was ask how her when her birthday was,” Liodus added.  
“It looks like we’ll have to avoid talking about your past for now until we’re able to access some form of medical therapy. I assume your mind is stressed from all that’s happened,” She stated.  
“Will she be okay,” Liodus quickly asked in concern. I looked at him in surprise.  
“I will be fine brother. Let’s just get out of this hallway,” I told him as I almost pleaded to escape.  
“I hate to dismiss this situation, but the funeral starts in just a few minutes,” she hesitated to agree with me.  
We were quickly rushed through the door that she had exited from and there were multiple turians waiting in the room that was just beyond. No one was seated and most of the strange turians present were clad in battle armor. There were a half dozen turians that were wearing matching black and blue armor like the armor Bruter had told me I would have inherited. This must me his platoon that he had also spoken of.  
Anosi guided us to the front of the room where Bruter’s body was laid adorned with the battle armor he had cherished. A shotgun had been placed in his grasp and it looked like he was prepared to stand and shoot it. I was being led to his body and Anosi swiveled us around to face everyone in the room. Lunnus appeared from the crowd to stand behind me. Liodus let go of my hand and stood beside his father. I was standing directly in front of Anosi who was gripping my left shoulder with her gloved hand.  
She was standing quite stiffly as she began to speak, “I am honored that everyone in our small family was able to attend my dear brother Bruter today and that those that he considered his brothers and that fought alongside him in his glorious career were able to make it as well. For today we get to say our goodbyes even if his spirit is not with us today. He joins his daughter and wife in their rest. For after their unfortunate deaths he was not the same. It was in this grief that he travelled to Earth to help fight the Reapers where he expected to die. It was when he found this little girl. Bruter tattooed her face and adopted her as his own before his death. It was his last request that we take her in as our own. So as my brother’s body bears witness, I call her my own daughter this day under the name Shepard Adratus.”  
There was a moment of silence and a murmur I did not quite catch. “She is welcome amongst us and we shall do our best to welcome her,” A turian with a skull painted on his face spoke.  
“Hah! If Tirdas likes her I will not balk at the idea. We are living in strange times as the humans say,” A very bulky pitch-black male with green eyes added. He had the black and blue armor, but white facial paint.  
“I find it ironic her name is Shepard,” A female that was nearly identical to Anosi, but with blue eyes added.  
“Let’s not go there right now,” I heard a distinctive voice tell her. I almost openly gaped at the scarred turian standing beside her. The visor over his left eye was a dead giveaway that it was Garrus Vakarian. He looked slightly embarrassed and irritated on equal measures. The female smiled at his reaction.  
“Well, if that is all any of you have to say then I am glad that you approve of Shepard’s induction into the family,” Anosi stated almost in uncertainty. She seemed surprised by the reaction and relieved.  
She directed me to turn around to face Bruter’s body. “As his last act and first relative I believe that he would want you to be the first to say goodbye, Shepard,” Anosi whispered in my ears. “Go up to him and say your goodbyes.”  
I was gently pushed forward, and I felt myself beginning to tremor. I wanted to say so much more. I thought of my happiest memory.  
Approximately a month before Bruter’s demise:  
“Shepard! Shepard Where are you?” Bruter whispered fiercely as he quietly crept through the alleyway.  
I was looking down at him from a fire escape stairway that had been partially destroyed so he would have had to look up to see me. Usually, he could find me quite easily and today was the first day I had managed to feel like I had vanished truly.  
“I am right here,” I called out, because I did not want him to think that I was dead or had been captured.  
“I commend your stealth skills, but do you have to give me a heart attack every single morning?” he demanded as he looked up at me.  
“I just wanted to make sure that we weren’t being followed,” I told him honestly.  
“Well will you come down here? I thought we might find something fun to do today,” he said.  
I sighed and expertly descended the stairs and then I waved him closer and her caught me as I hinted at him to do. “I appreciate it,” I said as he did so.  
“I can’t protect you if you keep wandering off,” he warned.  
I released myself from his arms and I walked beside him. I ignored the warning as I changed our talk to a related subject. “There are so few bodies littering the streets now. The husks are growing larger in population, but where are they?” I asked.  
“They have been culling people in this area for at least five months now. I think that the human resistance must be distracting them. We still must be careful though. We’re never safe,” he told me.  
“So, if we’re in so much danger why have we been heading back toward the city after months of travelling away from it?” I pointed out.  
“I feel like something is about to happen. I cannot explain it, but I think that the Reapers will lose soon. At least, spirits I hope so,” he answered.  
“I think that sounds like crazy, but I have to go with you,” I replied.  
“Do you feel like I am forcing you to be here?” his voice sounding hurt.  
“No. I mean that I have to go, because I love you,” I answered defensively and then I blushed at the admission. I saw the look of shock on his face and I saw his intention.  
I squeaked in terror and immediately began to bolt. He quickly caught me and instead of giving me an affection ruffling of my hair he placed his forehead against mine. “I appreciate it, Shepard. I love you, too,” he purred happily before setting me down. “Now let’s go have some fun before we have to keep walking.”  
I blushed and smiled at him. “I guess I can do that,” I agreed.  
Now…  
My face blushed again like that moment, but Bruter was not smiling back and I cried very silent tears and laid my head awkwardly on his chest. “I will never forget you, uncle Bruter,” I whispered as Lunnus watched me closely. He seemed to have heard me and I blushed harder and looked away quickly. I turned around with my shoulders hunched and hung my head as I hurried back to Anosi.  
I was quickly abandoned by her and I was standing alone with what felt like an awkward amount of space between me and Lunnus. I watched as she touched her head to his and whispered her farewells to her beloved brother. After a few moments everyone else was allowed to take a step forward and say their goodbyes to him as well.  
After she left the alter Anosi came back to me and I held her hand as she guided me into the crowd toward Garrus and the female beside him. It was then I noticed an older male that looked like Garrus’s father beside the female. “Solana,” she greeted the female by the two intwining grasps, “Garrus,” Anosi slowly nodded to Garrus and then finally, “Castis, it is so wonderful that you were able to make it. Your escape from Palaven worried us all.”  
I was desperately trying not to openly stare at Garrus. His scars fascinated me, and I wondered how a Turian could be so badly damaged and live. And I desperately wanted to touch his visor. I lost interest in the conversation the adults were having and just looked around before I was being spoken to directly.  
I snapped back to attention. Solana had asked, “How did you get a name like Shepard as a first name?”  
Garrus Vakarian was looking at me with a bit of curiosity himself. “That is a question she would rather not answer I am sure,” Castis squashed the question entirely. Garrus was seeming to study me for a moment before looking up.  
“Shepard is a very special to us. I hope that you will consider her family as I do,” Anosi pressed. I could tell that Anosi had a lot of influence and I was curious as to why. Was she high up in the turian hierarchy? Bruter had never suggested how high he had been in the hierarchy himself.  
“Who will look over her education?” Castis was the first to speak.  
Garrus seemed to grimace at his question. “Shepard and Liodus will both need to continue their studies. I don’t know how to begin to teach them without being near the hierarchy. Who will teach them?” Anosi seemed flustered.  
“Don’t worry, cousin,” Solana squeezed Anosi’s hands with her own. “I can help and I am sure Garrus would love to show them his fighting skills while he is still among us,” Solana told her.  
“I wouldn’t mind the distraction, but I won’t have a lot of time before I need to leave,” Garrus agreed.  
I smiled widely at the idea that I would learn something from Garrus Vakarian, who was my cousin. It felt unreal to be this close to a legend and one of the heroes that helped save the galaxy from the Reapers.  
“I really appreciate it, I do. And I am sure Shepard does,” Anosi spoke in delight.  
“Thank you,” I said shyly with a blush.  
The rest of the evening was me and Liodus being passed around the room to be shown to all of the adults, and the adults grieving Bruter. He and I were left to our own devices and we joined each other when that moment occurred an hour later.  
“Is there some way that we can escape this room?” I pleaded.  
“I think that there is a door on that side of the room,” he said unsure.  
“I will show you the way out,” I heard Garrus’s voice.  
We looked up. “Alright, Cousin. Show the way,” Liodus didn’t hesitate to agree.  
He led us to a door and suggested that we sneak by without a word. No one stopped us. Garrus had brought us to the mess hall on the ship. “I don’t think we have any food on board that I can offer you,” Garrus apologized to me.  
“I ate before leaving Earth,” I told him.  
“Is this your first time in space?” he asked.  
“Yes.”  
He seemed a little shocked by my admission. “Six whole months on Earth with the Reapers. It is a miracle that you are standing here right now,” he admitted his amazement.  
“I had to,” I stated.  
Garrus gave me a faraway look. “Claire was like that. Same ferocity and Will to Survive. You might make a good leader someday yourself, kid,” he said to me. “As long as you work hard of course and have years of training,” he added hastily.  
I smiled widely. “What about me?” Liodus asked.  
“You already know you’re gifted. Let us just hope you can keep up with Shepard,” Garrus said pointing at me.  
“I’m not- ,“I began to protest.  
“Their relationship is not a competition, Garrus. Liodus should choose to help his sister and in turn she supports him no matter what,” Solana interrupted suddenly.  
“I think a little bit of competition between sibling is healthy,” he protested.  
“If Liodus wants,” I spoke up.  
“My parents both want me to help Shepard,” he disagreed with Garrus’s sentiment.  
“Looks as if rebellion is still your forte, Garrus,” Solana teased her brother.  
“Funny,” he replied.  
Lunnus was the one to come into the mess hall looking for us. “Liodus, Shepard, there you are. Is everything alright?” he asked in a concerned tone.  
“Yes, father. Garrus and Solana were just hanging out with us,” Liodus told Lunnus.  
“How are you, Shepard?” he focused on me.  
“I am fine,” I answered, except I was amazing.  
“We ought to be returning to our ship for the night. You are welcome to join us. My ship has a few extra bunks much better than this old ship,” My father said to Solana and Garrus as he looked around the mess hall in disgust. I would later learn that Lunnus hated serving in the turian military. He thought it was a necessary evil to serve.  
“If it means a soft bed I will say yes,” Solana said as she rubbed her knee. “I know it’s mostly healed, but my leg still hurts.”  
“I will go, too,” he said watching his sister concerningly.  
We all left the ship and Anosi followed when she saw us walking back through the crowd. I caught a glimpse of the skull tattooed turian who looked directly at me and smiled. I did not know if it was a sinister smile or genuine, so I looked away quickly and kept walking.  
I was guided by Anosi to the bunk I would sleep in directly above Liodus after I was prepared for bed. “Good night you two. Hopefully your schooling will begin very soon and tomorrow may be a big day so get lot’s of sleep,” She said.  
“Sleep well, Mother,” Liodus said.  
“Goodnight,” I said simply.  
She smiled at both of us before exiting tiny room. I heard Liodus roll over just before I fell asleep.


	3. Settling In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard and Her Family return from Bruter's funeral that was hosted by his family and former platoon. They are seated at the table for breakfast among their cousins and guests Garrus and Solana Vakarian. Shepard continues to idolize the turians and steps further and further away from her human heritage except a small interaction with a random patient. She finds out the path for her future and gets a new companion.

Chapter 3: Settling In  
The next morning my new family was seated at the large table that was within our ship’s kitchen. “This Ship is so nice. Is this what you use on your missions?” Our cousin Garrus asked my father Lunnus who was drinking a greenish substance from a glass.  
“Unfortunately, not. I only use this ship when I bring my family with me. This war has made me use it far more often,” he answered after setting his glass down.  
Liodus was eating something that looked like it contained hardened scales. He seemed happy to eat it and I was just happy that the oatmeal I was eating was not bland. It was full of cinnamon, dried apples, and sugar!  
“It does still have excellent maneuverability in a small skirmish, and I have quite the guns rigged up to it. Necessary features,” Lunnus described to him proudly.  
“Liodus has proved quite the beginner’s marksmen,” Anosi declared proudly.  
“I want to become as great a marksman as cousin Garrus,” Liodus replied excitedly.  
“Are you planning to teach Shepard how to shoot a gun?” Solana asked.  
Anosi and Lunnus looked at me and at each other before Anosi answered, “We were talking about beginning a bit of her education today.”  
I raised my eyebrows in surprise. I had not expected to have anything required of me so soon. Now I was going to hold and shoot a gun? What?  
“When breakfast is over Lunnus will take Shepard to the training room for a bit of an evaluation,” Anosi added.  
“Do you mind if I take her?” Garrus asked.  
I was going to faint. “If you think it is best,” Anosi said to Lunnus.  
“Garrus would probably relate better to Shepard since he’s spent much more time around humans than us,” Lunnus replied.  
“When you’re working with her be sure to watch her. She tends to push herself and she can’t do that with her prosthetic,” Anosi informed him.  
“Can I go?” Liodus pleaded.  
“Yes, you can, cousin,” Solana said, “And I will come, and you will show me your sparring skills.”  
“I can’t wait,” I said grinning ear to ear.  
None of the turians wore armor now. Garrus was wearing a blue, gold, and black suit that covered him from his throat to his toes. I was wearing something similar, but not as skintight. Turians did not really have to worry about chafing, but I did.  
“So did my cousin Bruter teach you anything about sparring while you were with him, Shepard?” Garrus asked when we finally were standing in a room that was covered from ceiling to floor in stiff black and yellow wrestling mats.  
“We used to train every day,” I told him.  
“Can you run with that leg?” he said.  
“It’s been long enough I should have full functionality,” I guessed.  
He was wearing cushioned gloves that would cushion the blow if I punched his metallic armored palm. “Now show me a few punches and I will go from there,” he said as he took up a defensive position with his palms facing me.  
I remembered the way Bruter had showed me and I took a deep breathe. At least I was hitting something softer because I had to hit Bruter without padding. My knuckles were callused, and a little bit scarred. “Nice form. Just Keep your elbows in a little. It looks like your leg slows you down a bit, but you’ll learn to adjust,” he commented on my form.  
Liodus and Solana were circling each other, and he was trying to wait for an opportunity to strike. He judged well on when to land the first strike, however Solana was vastly nimble and leapt back with a heavy thud on the matt.  
“Are you ready to spar now?” Garrus asked me.  
“I can try,” I said looking at my leg that was tightly bound. It was made of steel after all.  
I took up my stance and mimicked the circling that I had seen moments before. Garrus copied and his eyes were watching me closely and he was completely relaxed.  
He did not wait for me to strike though and he began swiping his talons at me and I struggled to evade him, but I did. He knew that I could not strike him or do any damage, so he was trying to test my ability to evade. Garrus was hard to avoid and I could tell he was holding back on me despite my struggle. He tried swiping a leg and I jumped and landed. I was shocked the impact had not hurt. I felt much more confident. “You learned well,” Garrus praised me after what felt like an extremely long session. I was breathing hard, but he had not broken a sweat.  
“Can we go to the range now?” Liodus begged as he was panting hard, too.  
“I second the motion,” Solana said as she was just breathing a bit harder. No sweat had been broken by her if turians had the ability to sweat.  
The four of us left the mats and headed down the hall. “I admire that you are so light on your feet Shepard. You’ll be a match for any turian if you rely on those abilities you learned while surviving,” He told me.  
“Liodus has a strong stance. I could not knock him off his feet. Quick thinking, too. Almost hit me a few times,” She tapped Liodus’s head fondly.  
“He’ll get there eventually,” Garrus said.  
“Top hand to hand specialist in the universe,” She said pointing at herself.  
“Sure,” Garrus replied.  
We were now at the gun range and our father Lunnus was there. “Oh? Couldn’t stay away from the gun range any longer?” He asked upon seeing us.  
“I wanted to show them my rifle,” Liodus declared excitedly.  
“Well go show them while I see if Shepard and I can find a weapon that will suite her for now,” he told him as he began to walk toward a wall which had dozens of weapons hanging on it. I did not really know anything about guns. I walked over to him anyways.  
“So how did you do?” Lunnus asked me as he perused.  
“Garrus said I was sufficient, and I evaded him effectively,” I said to him.  
“Hmm… I will try this rifle here, this shotgun and go from there,” he decided and took a shotgun that was black and bulky while the other was an elongated white sniper rifle with a black scope and barrel. The gun had not been at its full mass before he pulled it off the shelf, and I watched in amazement as unfold into a full-size gun. He passed the shotgun to me to hold.  
“Never point it at anyone other then who or what you intend to shoot, never have it off safety unless you are going to shoot and put your finger on the trigger unless you intend to shoot it,” he told me sternly.  
I wanted to point the gun around to look at it better. “Don’t wave it around like that. Keep it pointed toward the ground at all times other than when you are aiming at a target,” he commanded as he forced the barrel toward floor.  
He guided me to the room the others had headed into and He strapped a pair of plastic earmuffs over my head as we entered the room. Liodus was already taking aim and he fired a shot and it hit just slightly left of the bullseye where the number nine was printed on the target. “Way to go son!” Lunnus praised.  
Lunnus ushered me to a spot that I had my own target to shoot at. It was a two-person virtual shooting ring, and the guns did not shoot real projectiles, but they looked and felt very real. “Look down the barrel and take aim using the sights. So, try to get the tiny piece on the end between these two metal bits her and shoot when it lines up,” He said as he was pointing and moving my arms as I was leaning forward scared out of my mind.  
“Now hold it firm and fire whenever you are ready,” he ordered.  
I took a deep breathe and pointed the barrel toward the target and felt my heart begin to raise as I pulled the trigger. I felt an immense force almost knock me completely over, but Lunnus held me upright when he saw me waver.  
I had hit the target, but it was at the very farthest ring from the center where the number one was printed. “At least you hit the target your first try. Now do it again now that you expect the kickback,” he instructed.  
I repeated my deep breath and fired a second time and got it at the third ring from the center where the number seven was printed clearly. “Nice hit,” Lunnus praised.  
I was able to practice with the shotgun and the Sniper Rifle for a while longer and found it was not easy to always get close to the center. My arms were growing tired rapidly and I disappointingly did not get my shots higher than a seven. The kickback was a bit much.  
“You did well for your first time, and we might make a marksman of you both,” Lunnus told us as we began to put away everything. It was been a very eventful morning.  
Lunnus decided it was time for lunch and we all went to another meal together.  
Several days passed in this sense of peace and Garrus, Solana hung out with us happily. Garrus would pop out every occasion with his father. It seemed the turian hierarchy and all the other races that were currently orbiting human space were getting fed up and tensions were rising among the races. There were pirates and bands of mercs that had been fighting with the crime lord and Asari, Aria T’Loak. There was fear that they may act out at any time. The relays needed to be built quickly or the turians and quarians would starve as well.  
It was the first of June and I was hoping Liodus had not spoken to anyone about that day in the hall about it most likely being my birthday. My small family trusted that I would not feint or get into to trouble if I were alone. I was resting on my bunk with a holonovel that I had found on the extranet. It was a turian adventure novel that was very violent compared to the novels that I had read as human on Earth. I was halfway through the novel and had been working on it most of the morning.  
When ten o’clock tolled I was no longer alone. “I know that you may not want to draw attention to it, but I thought I might at least give you a present since it is your birthday. It is a special day for humans, isn’t it?” Liodus said as he was leaning in the doorway.  
“I won’t say no to a present,” I said. I was surprised and felt a sense of delight.  
“I replicated an omni tool for you. It even has a bunch of attachments installed if you need them,” he said handing the boxed device to me. “I know you’ll have to wait to have it inserted, but mom said you’d be seeing a doctor later today and I wanted to give it to you now.”  
“Thank you, Lio,” I said using his nickname and standing up to give him a hug.  
“Why have you been reading all morning anyways. I thought you’d be on the mats today,” he commented.  
“I have a huge headache and I just wanted some quiet time,” I told him.  
“Glad your getting seen then,” He replied.  
“Mom spent all day yesterday trying to find a specialist among the fleet before she had to ask the humans for one. We must go to them, though. I am going to be leaving with her in an hour to head back down to Earth,” I explained to him in detail.  
“Don’t turian doctors treat humans?” he asked in confusion.  
“She is turian. She’s just helping treat the wounded on Earth where all the other doctors are right now,” I answered.  
“Are you scared of doctors?” he asked.  
“Not at all. My human father was a doctor,” I told him, “Only thing I care to remember about him. He died when I was seven. I don’t know how because my mother refused to talk about it.”  
“Well at least you don’t have a fear of needles. I absolutely hate them. My natural armor makes it hard for needles to pierce my skin and it hurts a lot,” he told me as he rubbed his upper left arm as he remembered the pain.  
“I hope I don’t need any shots,” I emphasized.  
An hour passed quickly and Anosi came to get me. Today she was wearing a mixture of blue, white, and black colors. She was always so finely dressed. “I was wearing a similarly colored hooded cloak. It had cooling fibers laid within the fabric, so I was not overheating with all the fabric I had to always wear nearly. I also had to keep my hair short with the shortage of all luxuries across the ship.  
“Well, are you ready? Did Liodus give you his gift?” she asked me.  
“You know, too,” I responded.  
“I helped him replicate it,” she said with a grin.  
“Thank you, mom,” I said to her as I blushed.  
She smiled and patted my shoulder affectionately as we boarded the small craft that we were to take to the surface. It did not take us long since Lunnus had moved the ship closer to Earth the day before. “Identify yourself. You are descending into Earth’s orbit and I need verification,” We heard a voice over the intercom.  
Anosi rattled of a series of numbers before the man said, “You are clear to land on the European continent. Please be safe during your stay.”  
It took a good minute for us to reach the hospital on Earth. We were headed to Dublin, Ireland. I never thought I would visit this side of the world.  
The hospital as still standing tall with only one wing that looked like it had been caved in. The building nearby was in decent condition as well. It looked like Dublin had not been hit by the Reapers as hard.  
“It looks too nice here,” I told her as I looked around.  
“I thought it might make it easier on you if we came to a part of Earth that hadn’t been hit as hard,” She told me.  
“Thank you,” I said.  
“Well let’s get inside before we’re late for your appointment,” she said as she stepped out of the space craft. I followed and we entered hospital where people were rushing around, and the halls were crowded. There were so many people with horrible injuries, and I refused to look. The only one I saw was the human boy who was looking directly at me. He looked the same age as me. His eye right eye was cybernetic, and part of his jaw was made of metal.  
“Hello, are you here to be treated?” A woman stopped us to ask.  
“I have an appointment with your resident pediatrician. A Doctor Vatana,” Anosi told her.  
“Oh! Right this way,” she said as she began to walk away. We followed.  
“I thought we were to expect a turian little girl, but it appears Doctor Vatana was mistaken,” The woman said as she looked at me.  
“Anosi! It is a pleasure to see you!” A female turian with purple facial tattoos greeted my mother affectionately. She walked right past the woman guiding us to her and hugged my mother.  
“It is good to see you Sinea,” My mother hugged her back.  
“This must be Shepard your new daughter. How are you liking your new lifestyle, Shepard?” The doctor said turning her attention now to me.  
“My family makes me very happy,” I told her as I shared a loving look with Anosi.  
“She is very talented,” My mother bragged.  
“Good to hear. Now let us go somewhere where I can examine you,” she suggested.  
We followed her deeper into the hospital and into a room that was surprisingly empty. “We try to keep these rooms open to examine patients such as yourself. It is hard though when more people keep arriving daily,” she told my mother.  
“I understand. I apologize if we are causing any inconveniences by being here,” Anosi apologized.  
“I always have time for my former commanding officer,” Vatana told her.  
I was told to sit up on a table so that Vatana could examine me.  
“I am going to run a quick scan to make sure your body doesn’t contain any other metallic objects other than your leg of course since I don’t have a medical history for you. Do you remember having any surgeries in the past?” she said to me as she was waving a handheld scanner over my legs.  
When she reached the base of my skull the scanner beeped and flashed. “It appears she has something located at the base of her skull. It looks like there are surgical scars here that are very old. Let us go ahead and get an image of it so I can tell you more,” She quickly said.  
She pulled an object that was attached to a robotic arm that she moved to the back of my skull. The object appeared on the monitor that was located on the counter. It was a small square object. “It looks like some sort of repression chip. Bizarre!” Vatana talked to herself.  
“A suppression chip?” my mother pressed for details. You could hear the worry in her voice. I was confused.  
“It’s something that parents have done to their children who are Biotic in hopes to suppress their Biotic abilities. The chip must have been damaged and that could be what is causing her headaches,” Vatana explained, “I can remove it easily and she will have full use of her biotic abilities when she receives her implants at around the age that she hits puberty. I’d say thirteen or fourteen would be the right age.”  
“I’m a biotic?” I said to myself as I felt extra aware of my hands suddenly.  
“It is just one surprise after another,” my mother sighed in exasperation.  
“Don’t worry, Captain. She will live a very happy life I am sure,” Vatana said placing a hand on Anosi’s shoulder for support.  
I had to be cut open twice and I was wide awake for both operations. The chip was tiny, and she could easily extract it and she added the omnitool implant to my right arm as well. I felt a sense relief. The chip was no longer putting pressure on my spinal cord.  
“Now let’s take a good look at your leg,” Vatana decided.  
“It’s a fairly simple design and it doesn’t appear to connect to your motor cortex at all. If I had any prosthetics to replace it I would, but it does not appear to cause any inflammation to the natural tissue so I think it will do fine until she must have that one replaced in a year,” Vatana remarked as she examined my metal ankle.  
Finally, the visit ended with me receiving a few shots and Anosi sent me out of the room to speak to Vatana. She told me to wait outside the door, but I could see the boy from before was staring out a window just a few yards in front of me. I wanted to say hello.  
The sound of my footsteps approaching him caused him to jump. “Oh, I didn’t realize it was just you,” he sighed in relief.  
“But you don’t know me,” I pointed out.  
“I remember seeing you earlier,” he said.  
“What happened to your leg?” he asked me.  
“Husks,” I answered.  
“ I don’t like to talk about the Reapers. What do you want anyways?” he demanded as he hugged his elbows in distress.  
“I just wanted to say hello. You looked lonely over here,” I replied.  
He looked at me for a moment. “I believe you.”  
“I am glad,” I told him in confusion.  
He smiled and I smiled back. “Shepard! It’s time to leave!” I heard my mother calling out.  
“Will I see you again?” I asked him.  
“I hope so,” he replied.  
I waved at him and jogged to where my mother was waiting. “I told you to wait, Shepard,” my mother scolded me.  
“Sorry. Are we going back to the ship?” I asked her.  
“Once we go and pick up your father’s gift to you,” She coyly withheld. She stepped aside and gestured for me to go ahead of her.  
We went back to the shuttle that was where we had parked it. I looked around one last time. I hoped this was my last visit to Earth for a long time. I had nothing to keep me here now. I happily stepped into the shuttle with my mother.  
Once we entered the shuttle, I had a few minutes to think as Anosi was preparing the ship to take off.  
I was thinking imagining being a Biotic and what that meant. I was very afraid of the fate that would wait for me and if this revelation meant I could not serve the hierarchy. All I remembered was the opinion of my own people about human biotics. Humans hated and feared them and they were sent to a place called Jump Zero out in space away from Earth. It meant leaving your family and being constantly feared and expecting bigotry among your own people.  
I stewed in all of these dreadful thoughts and fears and once my mother had taken off I tentatively asked, “What happens to me now?”  
She replied in confusion, “Now?”  
“What changes now that I am a biotic?” I clarified nervously. I was trying to prep myself mentally for her reply.  
“It means you are even more special than we originally thought and that you will have a very honorable future if you succeed,” she answered very pleasantly and happily.  
I looked out the window at the large black scars across the Planet’s surface and I noted all the green that was now present on the surface now that the Reaper’s dark clouds were gone. It looked like Earth was not entirely doomed ecologically after all, or at least I hoped. At least there was still life on the planet after all it and its people had suffered.  
“Will I be in the turian military?” I decided to ask her as well.  
“You will be part of a sacred task force called a Kabal if you prove to be worthy. The Kabal will be a place you can be among a handful of other biotics that you will grow close to like a family. You will get to be sent of special and covert missions. It is very honorable work,” she explained to me.  
“I hope that I can prove myself worthy,” I promised her in awe.  
Suddenly she was landing again, but it was on another ship that was floating in Earth’s atmosphere that I did not recognize as turian.  
“What kind of ship is that?” I asked staring at it in slight disgust. It was an ugly brown color and it just looked flat except from above the front of the ship appeared circular.  
“This is a transport ship. It’s where we’re retrieving your gift from,” she told me ominously.  
She landed in the very large transport’s shuttle bay and we exited from our shuttle craft after a few moments. “Don’t say anything about his appearance or smell, stay close to me, and don’t be afraid,” my mother commanded as she slid her arm around my shoulder and led me forward.  
I glanced around the shuttle bay where there was only one other shuttle that was pure blue and bared the human Alliance colors. It was heavily scuffed and damaged. Our shuttle was black with yellow accents and did not bare any scratches; it looked new.  
We went up a stairway with dirty brown guard rails and I was too disgusted to touch them. I was forced to look up when I heard very large footsteps approaching. It was like a human dinosaur was approaching as a Krogan was walking toward us. The great armored toad-like alien had a dark green armored head, and his facial scales were a yellowish tan hue. His reptilian eyes were red with black slits.\  
The most bizarre thing about this heavily clad war machine was that he was carrying a tiny fish eyed blue varren puppy. Its big black eyes were darting around in curiosity as it panted stress-fully.  
“As requested,” the Krogan deep voice bellowed. “Your varren welp,” he announced as he towered over me. He then dropped the varren unceremoniously toward me. I quickly caught the varren and almost dropped him due to the surprise and shock.  
The Krogan did not even wait to leave. “Pay your respects to my master, will you!” he called out over his shoulder. He was gone as loudly and as insanely as he had arrived.  
The varren was not shy and was licking my face like an extra excited puppy and I immediately forgot my terror. I was giggling with joy and was trying to get him to stop.  
Suddenly he was plucked from my arms by my mom. “Hey!” I protested.  
She ignored me as she held the dog slightly above her and away from her face. “It appears to be a very healthy little male. You must think of a name for him. He will be your companion for many years,” she told me.  
“I can call him Draco since he looks like a dragon with all those teeth,” I answered after a moment of staring at him.  
“Ha! Dragons are particularly fierce even though mythical. It will work,” She approved as she handed him back to me with a chuckle.  
“Thank you,” I said blushing enormously.  
“He will be your responsibility. Feeding, cleaning, and loving him daily,” she informed me.  
I looked down at the little creature and grinned. “I will definitely love him,” I agreed happily. He was so absurdly cute.  
We returned to our shuttle with the varren squirming in my arms and we returned to space and back home to our yellow ship. It was home.


	4. The Normandy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garrus decides to bring Shepard and Liodus aboard the Normandy. Edi and Joker have a surprise.

The tensions were rising in the human’s part of the sector and Garrus Vakarian could feel it in his bones. He wished Commander Claire Shepard were here because her presence would have made every day here easier. If it were not for his family the political and emotional pressure would be crushing him. Garrus rose from his borrowed bunk with a sigh and fitted his visor on as he had done a thousand times. Though if Claire were there, she would have stopped him. She liked to hold his face in her soft hands so she could gaze upon his whole face. She had loved him so much.  
He struggled to breathe as the memories felt so real. “She traded her life to take to control of the Reapers. She was gone,” he told himself. The truth stung.  
“Is everything alright, Garrus,” he suddenly heard his sister ask. She was standing in the door. He could not help mentally criticizing himself for not sensing her approach and for letting his guard down even though he was safe and was surrounded by his family.  
“I am..” he hesitated for a microscopic moment and then said, “alright.”  
“As if I believe you,” she scoffed and hit him on the head.  
“Ouch! What was that for?” He growled.  
“For being so selfish. You should not be here hiding away. You should be out there helping like everyone else,” she accused him viciously.  
“I guess I deserve that,” he said in defeat as he gazed down sorrowfully at the floor at his feet.  
“It’s time to move on, Garrus. I know it is hard, but the Galaxy needs you again. Shepard needs you,” She pressed on him in an attempt at trying to comfort him. Turians believed in honor no matter what and to his sister he was doing his former lover a disservice in his inaction.  
He wished for a more human perspective and perhaps if he did leave, he would get that opportunity. For now, he would need to attend a lesson with his not so turian pupil.  
“I have a meeting with Wrex tomorrow. I will see if there is anything I can do then,” he said dismissively as he brushed past her. He loved his sister, but she and their father were too turian for him to spend this much time with. He longed for tomorrow, too.  
He headed across the ship where he spotted Shepard who was dressed like a turian and her varren puppy was waiting impatiently nearby. She had been meticulously training him over the past few weeks since she had gotten him. Fortunately, varren were easier to train than dogs with their higher intelligence so the creature learned quickly.  
Shepard was seated cross-legged on the middle of the mat reading a holonovel of some sort. Whenever she was not training, she was reading.  
“Is this your way of relaxing? Reading turian holonovels,” Garrus observed as he walked in.  
She jumped in surprise, quickly lobbed the tablet over near her pet, and quickly stood and bowed to me, respectively. She idolized Garrus and he could tell.  
“I do enjoy them,” she admitted sheepishly.  
“Do you ever miss aspects of your human life?” he was too tempted to not to ask.  
She seemed surprised by the question and took just moments to think before answering, “I miss the greater range of emotions. I feel like I feel things that my brother doesn’t.”  
“That is a good observation. Do not try to emulate the turians too much, Shepard. Try not to ignore your human self. It is unhealthy. Don’t forget that,” he imparted his odd wisdom.  
“Are you leaving?” she asked. She was quite perceptive and she looked mildly distressed.  
“I will have to leave tomorrow but let us not think of that right now. Just sit there and enjoy this moment,” he told her as he seated himself on the ground and patted the space beside him. She got the hint and sat next to him.  
“We’re supposed to train,” she pointed out.  
“We are training, but you must listen first,” he insisted.  
Garrus decided to tell her the ultimate story. He told Shepard every detail of Commander Shepard’s life and his love for her. He told her how he never left her despite his companion’s loyalty to her and that explained how she never left him even when he stood at death’s door.  
“I laid bleeding on the ground and she cried out my name and that’s when I knew she had feelings for me. The moment I was falling unconscious,” he explained as he fondly remembered his near violent death.  
He continued and told her about everything. He even told Shepard about the Collector base, the Leviathan, Curing the Genophage, the Rachni, the Geth, Cerberus, and the Reapers. It was so much information to take in in one sitting.  
“Why did you tell me all of this?” She asked him in utter confusion. Her brain was spinning from all the details.  
“I guessed that you could comprehend it and learn from it. I know it’s selfish, but I had to tell someone,” he sighed in great relief.  
“I feel selfish that I named myself after her,” Shepard admitted to him.  
“I’m sure she wouldn’t mind. She is going to have a lot of children named after her with her being the saviour of the entire galaxy,” he assured her.  
“And you’ll be there to tell her story!” Shepard teased him.  
“Just promise me you won’t forget it’s lessons,” he pressed upon her.  
“Alright,” she agreed rather casually.  
“Now we can train,” he decided. “Are you going to show me the new moves you learned?” he asked her.  
She jumped up excitedly and took up her practiced stance. She was going to be fine here. Their lesson lasted another hour before he excused himself.  
The next morning, Garrus left to meet with Krogan leader Urdnot Wrex and his equal Urdnot Bakara. He went by Shepard’s example and yelled loud enough to get the old Krogan to listen. They sat down with their old companions who decided to awaken from their own mourning periods. The remainder of Shepard’s crew all united and pressured the council to start a plan of reconstruction. After a lot of politicking and strife the day finally came that Garrus met with his companions to celebrate their victory seven months later upon the Normandy. Guests were welcome.  
He had invited his youngest cousins Shepard and Liodus. He thought that the team might get a kick out of them. They had never seen a turian child before and Shepard would make her own impression…  
He guided the two nervous children out of their parent’s shuttle. “Come on kids don’t keep them waiting,” he commanded them as he shepherded them out of the shuttle.  
“Where are we?” Liodus asked as he took in the surroundings of the Normandy’s cargo bay.  
“Aboard the Normandy,” Shepard answered quickly. She remembered it from Garrus’s description and the Alliance symbols everywhere.  
He continued to usher them forward when they were greeted by none other than James Vega.  
“Oh, look it’s Scars! Did you kidnap a small child and another turian?” his heavily tattooed muscular human friend greeted him.  
“No. Vega these are my cousin’s children. I invited them along,” Garrus informed his friend and former comrade.  
“Oh, why does the smaller one look human then?” he asked pointing to Shepard.  
Garrus rolled his eyes and guided us past Vega.  
“Just ignore him,” Garrus told us. The children both nodded.  
“What did I say?” Vega asked in confusion as he followed us to the elevator.  
Vakarian and his cousins waited alongside James Vega in the elevator to the Crew Deck or level 3 of the Normandy.  
“Welcome back Mr. Vakarian,” A smooth feminine voice greeted over the intercom. Was the voice part of the ship? Shepard seemed to be squeezed between Liodus and Garrus.  
“Glad to be back,” he said to the voice.  
“I did not know that you planned on bringing anyone with you. Tali Zorah and Dr. T’Soni brought some guests as well,” She commented and informed him.  
“Oh, boy. More kids,” James added sarcastically.  
It seemed a lot had happened since he had last seen them all on such a personal level. He had had no time to delve into each of the others personal lives due to all the work they had had to do recently.  
The doors opened and Garrus and his companions were faced by two of Commander Shepard’s old crew. The rest were all scattered around the room and he could not see everyone and guessed they were hidden around the ship or could not make it. Tali and Liara were his welcome party. “Garrus you look different without your armor,” Tali observed.  
“It appears you have guests, too,” Liara pointed out immediately.  
“Yes, Yes! Who are these two children?” Tali demanded as she looked down at the pair.  
Liodus seemed to be openly stunned and frozen. He did not know how to process Liara’s blue beauty and he was struck by Tali’s suit. The two were stunningly beautiful. Shepard, being the bolder of the two children, decided to speak, “We are Garrus’s cousins.”  
“I didn’t know turians could have human cousins,” Tali stated her confusion.  
“There are numerous examples of human turians who have joined the hierarchy, but not there are no human children examples,” Liara informed her.  
“Except there is me,” Shepard pointed out to her.  
“She even has the tattoos and everything,” Tali added as she looked at Shepard’s face. “Didn’t it hurt?” Tali asked as she cringed a little.  
“Yes,” Shepard said.  
“Are you just going to openly gawk at Shepard, or can we exit the elevator?” He asked and almost instantly regretted it. He had gotten used to her name, but they did not know it.  
“You really took that 'No Shepard without Vakarian' to heart, Scars,” James gave him the first jab using air quotes.  
“Very funny, Vega,” Garrus replied. He had not found that humorous. Neither had Shepard.  
“Don’t be so mean to Garrus. He’s going through some stuff,” Tali tried to defend him. She was not helping.  
“It was good to see you, too Tali, Liara, and Vega,” Garrus replied before steering Liodus and Shepard away to other friends in hopes the other three would not follow.  
He sought out Wrex and Eve who were seated nearby with Grunt. “Who are these small pyjack shit slingers?” the Krogan snorted as he eyed the children suspiciously. Maybe it had not been a good idea to bring them over.  
“Wrex you don’t have to use such foul language if front of the children,” Eve chastised him.  
“Alright, Alright,” he growled in annoyance. “What do you want, Garrus?” he asked turning to Garrus as he still eyed the children warily.  
“I brought them on sort of like a field trip,” Garrus tried his best to explain to the Krogans.  
“How nice,” Eve commented. “You children may call me Eve and that old Krogan over there is Wrex. And this is Grunt,” she introduced her Krogan clan members.  
“Hello,” the children squeaked out together. Shepard looked like she was desperate to ask questions and was stopping herself by biting her lip.  
“What are your names?” Eve asked them.  
“Who cares,” Wrex snapped.  
“Ignore him,” Eve was quick to say.  
“My name is Liodus,” the small turian answered shyly.  
Shepard stood tall seemed to puff out her chest. She was preparing herself for laughter or criticism. “My name is Shepard.”  
“It seems the humans are already naming their children after Shepard,” Wrex commented approvingly.  
“It’s a good name,” Grunt agreed.  
“They are both good strong names,” Eve praised.  
Shepard grinned widely and Liodus was able to relax now. “I appreciate it,” Garrus said to them.  
“What did we do?” Wrex asked in confusion as Garrus moved the children back towards the elevator.  
“Just hush,” Eve told the old Krogan. He grunted in displeasure.  
Garrus wanted to see Joker and Edi next.  
“Coming to see us?” Edi asked after the three had boarded the Elevator.  
“Yes,” Garrus agreed with her observation.  
Garrus wandered past the Alliance personnel that were busy at their stations. One crewman at a time stopped to whisper, or quickly glance as they three approached the cockpit. Shepard and Liodus were trying to catch glimpses of the virtual Galaxy map fixated in the center of the bridge. He did not want to look at Shepard’s command station. Its memories were too painful, so he kept them going.  
Shepard did grind her heels in when she spotted a familiar face. She ducked under Garrus’s arm to stop. “It’s him,” she whispered as if she could see a ghost.  
Edi’s physical android body was coming toward us and I saw the terror on Shepard’s face. Her only experience with synthetic creatures were those that had hunted her. She had pulled out her tactical knife and was holding it as she crumpled to the ground in terror. She looked like she was about to cry.  
The boy that Shepard had recognized leapt forward past Edi who stopped in confusion. He skidded to his knees and held Shepard in an embrace as she lightly wept.  
“Is she alright?” Edi whispered to Garrus.  
Liodus seemed to forget his fear. He autonomously walked over to her. His presence caused the boy to step back as Liodus pulled his sister to her feet. She quickly embraced him as he patted her back as she slowly began to calm down. Liodus had done this several times by now. His sister was still trying to heal from her six month long trauma.  
“Shepard thought she was a Reaper,” Liodus informed Garrus as she cried.  
“That is an incorrect observation,” Edi pointed out.  
“Yes, mom, but not every person has seen anything like you,” the boy pointed out.  
“So, the machine is your mom. How?” Shepard asked the boy as she rubbed her puffy eyes with sleeve.  
“Same way you’re a turian. I was adopted,” the boy told her.  
“Well, my name is Shepard Adratus,” She said holding out her hand to him.  
“I am now Garrett Moreau,” he copied her as he took her hand. The two shared a handshake and then stepped back.  
This evening was interesting to Garrus, but he was forced to let Garrett, Shepard, and Liodus to run off while he chatted with Joker. Well not forced exactly.  
“So how is life on the Normandy?” he asked the crippled pilot as he sat in his chair.  
“Oh you know, We just single handedly save the entire galaxy again,” Joker remarked in a rather sarcastic tone and then remembered, “Oh and I forgot to add that I am the father of a half reaper half human child.”  
“Edi?” Garrus wanted her to clarify.  
“He is not half reaper, Jeff. He just has some reaper modifications to his brain and facial structure,” she reasoned to him. She seemed hurt by his accusations.  
Joker immediately swiveled his chair around to face Edi. He waved her over and she stepped to him and he held her hands in his. “Edi, Sweety. When I say that he is half reaper I am not insinuating I love him an less. He is our son and I will love him like he is an actual Moreau. But we cannot ignore the fact that he is part reaper,” he told her warmly.  
“I hate to interrupt this touching moment,” Garrus said to them, “but I really want more information about this kid. If Shepard finds out something bad could happen.”  
“As I explained to Jeff-“ Edi began.  
“Edi let me tell this one. You might confuse Garrus more,” Joker interrupted his spouse and squeezed her palm affectionately. She seemed annoyed, however she seated herself in her own chair and waited.  
“About six months ago we were contacted by Chakwas on our trip to the Ireland for our honeymoon. She tells us of a fascinating subject that a local doctor had discovered. Edi could not resist and so off we went to this hospital in Dublin. It turns out that we find this nine-year-old kid who had been in the process of transformation when Shepard took control of the Reapers. Shepard, I guess, spared him, but now as Edi observed the upper right side of his head is consisted of reaper tech,” Joker finally finished explaining.  
“How is that possible?” Garrus asked in disbelief.  
“It was only a 0.00000001% probability. It seems that the synthetic reaper tech is coexisting with natural biological processes. It does not seem to hinder his daily processes whatsoever. It even improves him,” Edi stated proudly.  
“Improves him?” Garrus responded. He was disturbed by the insinuation.  
“Creepy way to put in, Edi. She means that the portions of the reaper tech give him supernatural powers like Lex Luthor,” Joker told him matter-of-factly.  
Garrus was just getting more confused.  
“He’s not a supervillain, Jeff,” Edi protested and openly glared her spouse. She was unamused.  
Liara was Garrus’s saviour. She stepped up behind him. “I hate to interrupt your conversation, but do you mind if I steal Garrus?” Liara asked suavely.  
“I think he has had his mind blow, Edi,” Joker stated to his spouse.  
“A good assessment, Jeff. It is fortunate Dr. T’Soni is here,” Edi agreed.  
“Did they tell you about Garrett?” Liara asked him sweetly.  
“I don’t know what I expected, but it was not that,” Garrus finally spoke bewilderment.  
“It was rather unexpected, but he is a marvelous child,” Liara responded to him.  
“As long as I come home with my cousins in one piece, I am happy,” he relented.  
“Yay Archangel approves!” Joker cheered sarcastically. “Now can I get back to work? The ship won’t fly itself,” he said dismissively.  
“Yes! Come Garrus. I have to show you something,” Liara beckoned him to follower her.  
He nodded silently and obediently followed her to the elevator. It was such a crazy experience being aboard the Normandy without Claire Shepard, he thought.  
“Are you thinking about the Commander?” Liara asked, speaking in her usual polite soft tone.  
“I miss her so much,” he admitted honestly.  
“I think that you haven’t been yourself lately, Garrus. We’re all worried about you,” Liara told him. She looked hurt.  
“I’m sorry, Liara. I never loved anyone as much as I loved Claire. Last time I was able to disappear and distance myself, but this time I have a constant reminder,” he explained to her.  
“The girl?” Liara guessed.  
“No. If anything Shepard makes Claire’s death easier. She makes he hopeful that there is a future for me beyond Claire Shepard,” he denied.  
“Then what is bothering you, Garrus,” she demanded slightly impatiently.  
“The Reapers,” he said.  
“They are no longer a threat, Garrus. Shepard took over them,” She responded.  
“That’s what’s bothering me. If Shepard could do it, what’s stopping anyone else from trying?” he demanded.  
“We are,” she said.  
“We don’t have access to the crucible now,” he pointed out.  
The elevator door opened, and they had arrived at Commander Shepard’s quarters. It remained untouched by James or the rest of the crew even though James was now the Normandy’s commanding officer.  
“What are we doing here?” Garrus hesitated to exit the elevator as he watched Liara walk toward the Commander’s door.  
“Just trust me, Vakarian,” she imitated Claire.  
He was annoyed, but he trusted Liara even though she was the shadow broker. She had never given him a reason to mistrust her so he followed.  
He felt incredibly tense as they neared the door he had walked through a hundred times to see his lover. The door’s sensor flashed from red to green and it automatically opened with an automated sound that mimicked a door lock unlatching. The door opened and revealed Clair Shepard’s large cabin in the state she had last left it.  
Garrus let out a silent gasp of pain as he saw everything that Shepard loved surrounding him. Her fish were still alive, and every model ship she had collected was displayed above her desk. The only thing he noticed missing was her pet hamster’s cage. He desperately reigned in his emotion as Liara turned to him. He did not want his friend to see him in distress.  
“Are you alright?” she asked in concern.  
“Where is Hammy?” he deflected by changing the subject.  
“Garrett keeps him in the med bay,” Liara answered.  
He felt relieved by that and went over and sat on Shepard’s sofa. “What did you want to show me?” he remembered the reason he was brought here as she sat down.  
Liara pulled out a large elongated black gun case that she had managed to stash under Shepard’s coffee table. “Shepard wanted me to give this to you,” she told him. It made a loud thud as it hit the table.  
He leaned forward as he reached to open it, but hesitated. “When?” he asked her.  
“Just before the vacation on the citadel she asked me to give this to you whenever you returned to the Normandy after she died,” She answered awkwardly.  
“Shepard was getting a little gloomy near the end. It was like she knew,” He remembered.  
“She was under a lot of stress,” Liara agreed. “Now just open the gun case, Vakarian,” she commanded impatiently.  
“Happily,” he purred as he undid the latches and the case’s interior lighting illuminated Shepard’s Black Widow Sniper Rifle with his initials etched onto the attached Precision Mark 4 Silencer that he had once asked Shepard for on a shopping trip on the Citadel.  
He ran clawed fingers over the gun, and he looked at Liara and said, “Thank you.”  
“I’m glad you like it,” she smiled and then, “I will leave you two alone. Come back down when you are ready.”  
She basically fled from the room as Garrus nearly drooled over the gun in front of him.  
Two decks below him Garrett Moreau and his new best friend Shepard Adratus were trying to get Liodus to hold Hammy the hamster. Hammy was in terror. It did not help that the deck above Tali and Liara were introducing their new family members to one another.  
Tali had also adopted a set of quarian twin babies orphaned from the war. She named them Kalo and Rael. And Liara introduced them to her first child with Javik, Ai’no T’Soni. Life continued aboard the Normandy and Her crew was finally moving on.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Adratus's return to Palaven briefly and separate from their cousins. It is sad, but it might not be the last we see of Garrus and Solana..

It had been a few days since Garrus had returned his cousins to his extended family and his sister aboard Lunnus’s customized personal spaceship. A lot was going on in space around them as ships were moving into position.  
It was time for the turians to leave the Sol System. The day had finally come that the relays were repaired enough that we could leave. The past seven months had been very tense as Shepard’s crew and several key political figures were able to get over their cultural differences and mine enough resources with the help of Shepard’s Reaper controlled forces. Shepard’s consciousness had been uploaded into them and they had delved deeper than any other vessel to mine asteroids further into space than any of our vessels could travel. If it were not for this teamwork the turians and quarians would have starved in just days. It was another miracle that the cooperation of all the races saved us all once again. Commander Shepard was watching over us both spiritually and literally.  
I was watching the ships move through our ship’s living room window. I was standing next to my brother Liodus to my left and my half grown varren to my right. We were anxiously waiting for the moment we got to see the relay in action. It would be my first jump and the first jump Liodus would witness in almost two years. He desperately wanted to return home to Palaven.  
“Tell me again about Palaven,” I responded to his anticipation.  
“It is beautiful. Everything is silver and we all work together. We serve each other and our society,” he fantasized about his home.  
To my surprise I was not as excited. I just remembered that if I were to step outside without some sort of environmental suit I would die. The sun could kill me and now I was calling it home? Oh, and the Fire! Liodus always skipped the fire and silver part of the planet’s description.  
We were shortly joined in our observation by our cousin Solana. Garrus helping our father Lunnus to fly the ship. He had received an injury to his wrist in a scrape with another turian over a disagreement. I was not allowed to know what about because I was not old enough to understand. I could tell the past year's isolation was causing a lot of tension for the turians around me. Tempers were high.  
I fell to the floor suddenly as I watched the sudden jump through space. It was like we were jettisoned forward, and it did not look natural and I felt a bit queasy. Liodus grasped my hand and forced me to my feet. He was so much taller than me. He was about 5’ 1” ft in height and I was about 4’ 5” ft in height. I was tall enough now that he and I could spar if we were careful of his legs and claws. Mom was not watching me like a hawk anymore and it was absolute peace.  
“Get settled in everyone, because even though we jumped it will still take several hours before we return to Palaven,” We heard Lunnus announce over the ships intercom system.  
Liodus and Solana were cheering and celebrating.  
I smiled as I turned and left the room. I decided I wanted to go finish my latest holonovel which was by an Asari author this time. Garrus had bought me a bunch of other novels from other cultures so I would get the full experience of my education. I was obediently making my way through the collection which was growing each day. He would acquire them from Edi and Garrett. Garrett was my long-distance best friend. I chatted with him over the extranet when I had the opportunity.  
As I was finishing up my novel while relaxing on the mat with my varren, Draco, who laid peacefully asleep beside me. Liodus joined me. He seated himself on the mat to my left and wrapped his arms over his knees.  
“We’ll entering Palaven’s atmosphere in twenty minutes,” he informed me.  
“Ugh,” I groaned. “Guess I should get changed,” I decided.  
“I will watch Draco for you,” he said.  
“Thank you,” I replied.  
I went to the locker that was just outside Liodus’s and my shared bedroom. My mother and father had managed to have someone make me a suit small enough I could wear. It had cost them a lot of money. My armor was black and with my blue clan colors. It was a smaller example of the set that I would be able to inherit when I joined the military. For now, it was time to go to Palaven.  
I made my way to the living room window where Solana was already looking out at the planet as we approached. It looked green with patches of large black marks across the planet’s surface from this distance. We were headed for one of the largest black masses on the planet’s surface.  
“It’s the first time we’ve been home since we were evacuated,” She stated apprehensively. I could sympathize with her fear. I was glad I did not have to return to my destroyed home. It would just be too painful to bare, I imagined.  
I did not know what to say, but I clutched her hand in support and she seemed surprised. She did not rip her hand away, but instead thanked me, “I appreciate it Shepard.”  
I nodded as best I could in my heavy suit. “How does it feel to wear all that armor?” she asked me as she examined it with just her eyes.  
“It’s very heavy. It will take some time to get used to,” I told her as my voice echoed slightly. My head was covered by a helmet, so my voice was heard through a built-in microphone.  
“It appears to fit you properly. You will adjust quickly,” She decided.  
I would have said something else, but we were entering the planet’s orbit and I heard Solana gasp. The great silver structures that once surrounded her and Garrus’s home was reduced to ashes by the Reapers. It had been one of the hardest hit places on the planet and the only thing that remained here were the people who were now returning. I could do nothing as I watched her expression of horror.  
Our ship hit the darkened ground and Lunnus’s voice was heard over the intercom, “We’re here.” He did not sound happy either. Solana stiffly turned toward the doorway that would take us to our ship’s shuttle bay. She stood tall and I walked with her.  
Our entire family was waiting in the shuttle bay. It seemed everyone was feeling equally as fearful about trying to step outside. Solana went to her brother and he grasped her hand in support. I watched as my mother, my father, and my brother hold each other’s hands. This was the first time that I had felt like a stranger looking at my own family. I felt like I was intruding, and I watched silently as they had their moment.  
Lunnus, Anosi, and Liodus all looked up at me at nearly the same time. “Join us Shepard,” my mother said as she held a handout to me.  
I smiled lightly and stepped forward to take her hand. Garrus and Solana joined us in a crude semi-circle of joined hands. “Please by the spirits,” Solana prayed, “Let our home still be alive.”  
Garrus was the one who took the step to hit the button that opened the ship’s bay doors to reveal what remained of his birthplace. He stepped from the ship on the blackened surface and waved us forward when he felt it was safe for all of us to exit the ship.  
I watched as my family exited together. I walked behind them with my varren close to my side and I glanced around at all too familiar sign of the Reaper’s destruction. There were no bodies here. The terrain was uneven and rocky with large portions of the land broken up by pools of water that cascaded over the terrain in miniature silvery waterfalls.  
I walked further away from my grieving family to observe the remnants of silver and stone skyscrapers and turian architecture. I found a piece of marble that I picked up lying within the ash. I dusted it off with my gloved hand and saw the half missing head of a turian male. Its face looked stern and noble.  
I looked back at my family. Solana was crying and Garrus was holding her as she wept. My mother and brother were surveying the area on the opposite side of the ship as if they were searching for signs of life. Lunnus was making his way over to me.  
“Father,” I greeted him.  
“I know it’s not much to look at now, but this was once a thriving city. That face once belonged to a statue outside the hospital that once stood here,” he told me as he gestured to the ruin we were standing by.  
I took a closer look at the ruin and noted all the metal that was melted together and could not tell the difference between the ruins and what had been equipment. “What happens now?” I asked him.  
“Now,” he repeated as if it did not register to him. He glanced around himself and looked back down at me. “One day our people will rebuild here and perhaps in my lifetime we can return to this place and call it home again. At this moment all we have is each other,” he told me.  
Our family ship was not the only ship that touched down. It was quickly joined by a variety of turian vessels including the vessel that held Castis, my cousin’s father. He had chosen to remain among the fleet rather than stay with us. I had not seen the turians Rynox and Tirdas since Bruter’s funeral and now they were among the gathering of turians joining us.  
“It is a grim day to see my home in such a state,” the older turian Castis remarked as he walked close enough for us to hear. We had all gathered to greet our newcomers.  
Solana stepped forward and she hugged her father in a tight embrace. “I am glad you are here with us, father,” she told him affectionately.  
When his sister released their father, Castis turned to his only son.  
“It is great to see you, dad,” Garrus greeted him. The two locked hands for a moment and nodded to each other in respect.  
“I am glad to see both of you safe as well. It was a long journey for all of us,” Castis said to them.  
Garrus and Solana followed their father as he came to greet us as well. “I see your family is doing well, Anosi,” he greeted my mother.  
My mother walked forward to take his hands in greeting. “We are all alive and well.” She confirmed.  
“I am glad that you are all alright. What are we going to do about all of this?” I heard the skull faced turian who was wearing green armor ask impatiently. He was gesturing to the scorched remains surrounding us for miles.  
“Can you be anymore insensitive?” his larger companion asked him in annoyance. He elbowed his friend in the chest.  
My father stepped toward the skull faced turian. “You’ll rejoin me on my crew of course,” My father said slapping on the shoulder.  
“I look forward to it,” Tirdas agreed happily.  
“What will you do Rynox?” my father asked the other turian.  
“I would like to follow you,” he told him boldly and then hastily added, “If you permit it, of course.”  
“I will be glad to have you both aboard,” Lunnus agreed.  
“Thank you, sir,” Rynox shook my father’s hand excitedly.  
“Where will we go father?” Solana asked.  
“I suppose we will have no choice, but to relocate to a more habitable region or leave Palaven,” he answered grimly.  
Solana seemed depressed by this and turned to her cousin. “What will you do Anosi?” she asked her cousin as they held each other’s hands. The two were so close.  
“I will have to be responsible of my children’s education until they come of age,” Anosi told her.  
“Where will you go?” Solana probed.  
“They have no choice, but to remain at my side,” Lunnus interrupted.  
“It is true,” Anosi confirmed.  
“Won’t it be dangerous?” Solana panicked.  
“We have no choice,” Anosi told her solemnly.  
Solana did not like the idea, but my parents knew that it was in our best interest. They did not want to be separated from us and vice versa. It wasn’t long until my father decided that we would need to leave so he could reclaim his ship.  
“Will we see you again?” Solana demanded as she had Anosi’s hand in a deathly tight grip.  
“I promise. Now relax, it will not be forever,” My mother said in a soothing tone. My father was prepping the ship to leave. Tirdas and Rynox were carrying their personal effects from Castis’s vessel onto my family’s ship.  
“Be safe then and don’t forget to stay in contact. No dodging my calls for ridiculous reasons!” Solana demanded of her sassily.  
My mother touched her palm to her face in a very human-like gesture. “Let us not get into this. Goodbye Solana,” my mother replied. She hugged her cousin affectionately and entered the ship.  
It was mine and Liodus’s turn to say goodbye. I was trying to hold back my own tears as Garrus, and Solana approached us. Garrus genuinely looked saddened by our departure which I was surprised by.  
“I believe that you will both be grown up the next time I see you. You children have a habit of growing fast,” Solana said as she first hugged Liodus and then me.  
“I will be taller than cousin Garrus for sure,” Liodus boasted. Lunnus was taller than Garrus and Liodus took strongly after his father.  
“I am sure,” Garrus agreed.  
I was watching the two of them silently and Garrus knelt on one knee to face me and he took my hands in his. “Remember everything I taught you, Shepard,” he told me and looked to Liodus, “Both of you.”  
“Will I see you again?” I asked him directly.  
“Straight to the point as always, Shepard,” he commented with a bittersweet chuckle for old times’ sake.  
“If you work hard and behave yourself, I promise you’ll see me again someday,” he confirmed.  
“Thank you Garrus,” I whispered as I wrapped my arms around his neck in an awkward metal on metal hug.  
He returned the hug and Liodus joined in and so did Solana. It was a massively effective hug. “Children it’s time to go!” Anosi called to us. She was equally as upset to have to leave our cousins.  
“Be brave Shepard,” he whispered loud enough for me to hear.  
“Goodbye Garrus,” I replied simply. I wanted to say so much more, but time was not on my side.  
Liodus and I held hands to support one another in our loss. “Goodbye!” we both yelled repeatedly as the door closed slowly. We jumped up and down waving our arms as we chanted.  
When the doors finally closed, I collapsed on the ground in tears and Liodus held onto me in support and for his own sake. My varren whined as he wiggled himself into the mix. We had grown so close to our cousins in the past year and it felt like I was losing two family members all over again. My varren tackled me and I removed my helmet to which his instant response was to lick at my face wildly.  
“Draco!” I protested.  
My brother laughed and freed me when he had gotten enough by grabbing my hound’s collar. I had the opportunity to stand. Draco was watching me expectantly and panted happily.  
“You can let him go,” I said as I rubbed my drool covered face with my armored hand.  
“Why don’t you go get changed and cleaned up? I will wait for you in the training room,” he suggested.  
I nodded and snapped my fingers to get my varren to follow beside me. It had been a long day and now it was a lonelier one.  
I changed out of my suite, showered, and changed into my everyday clothing before going to meet my brother in the training room. Draco followed me the entire way. I scratched his head quickly as I entered the training room.  
My mother was sitting beside him, and they were chatting. They stopped when I entered the room.  
“Hello, mother,” I greeted her as I seated myself to where I was facing her and Liodus was positioned to my left facing the same way. Draco laid down in his normal spot against the furthest wall behind me.  
“It is good to see your face again,” my mother said as she stroked my hair.  
I blushed awkwardly. My human mother had not been as affectionate as my current mother.  
“Thanks mom,” I squeaked nervously.  
She smiled and placed both hands on her lap. “As you both are aware we are now on our own. Starting tomorrow you will continue with your studies and Tirdas and Rynox will help out as makeshift instructors until we can find you both an actual instructor,” She informed us.  
“Yes, mother,” we responded together.  
“I am glad you two have grown so close. It warms your old terrible mother’s heart,” she stated.  
“You may be old, but you’re not terrible,” Liodus informed her.  
“Oh, I will get you!” Anosi grinned deviously and then tackled her son. She was trying to tickle him, but he was resisting like a flopping metal fish. I laughed at the two and scooted back to avoid being crushed.  
He laughed too. When my mother was satisfied she had tickled him enough, she began laughing, too.  
“As much fun as this is you two must eat and shortly after be put to bed. Tomorrow will be a long day,” she said seriously after taking a moment to calm down.  
“I wish I didn’t have to sleep,” I stated bitterly. I would only have nightmares or bouts of insomnia if I were lucky.  
“It is a necessary evil,” she agreed as she stood.  
“I sleep fine,” Liodus added.  
We both looked at him. “You’re just weird,” I said.  
“Be nice, Shepard,” my mother used that parental tone.  
I held my hand out to Lunnus who took it. He forgave me easily.  
“Come,” my mother commanded.  
We followed her. We ate a quick meal and she put us to bed.  
“Goodnight. I love you both,” she spoke softly to us.  
“Goodnight. We love you, too,” we both repeated.  
I fell asleep quickly due to exhaustion.  
“Max! Max, Please!” I heard someone scream. The voice sounded distant and I could not place it. I could barely see a path in front of me. All I was able to see was dark concrete and rubble in my path and lots of fog surrounding me.  
I tried to run forward and each time I would find myself surrounded by the fog still. “Max! Max!” I heard the screams closer this time.  
I was beginning to feel panic set in. “Where are you? What do you want?” I demanded from my position.  
Suddenly and without warning the fog cleared and a husk was facing me. I almost screamed, but I was aware of the fact I held a dagger in my palm. It was all I would need for a husk if he were alone, I thought to myself.  
“Max, Max, Max,” it chanted at me in the voice I could not place.  
“What do you want?” I shouted my demands at it.  
I gripped my dagger tightly, but something grabbed me from behind and place its synthetic hand over my mouth so I could not scream. “Gotcha,” the husk whispered into my ear.  
“Not yet,” I replied as I bit its hand.  
I stabbed the husk in the throat, and it groaned horribly as it died.  
The one that had been calling my old name rushed forward and I tried dodging it when it scratched the right side of my face and I saw blood dripping from it.  
I was about to attack again when I was forced back into reality by a taloned hand gripping the back of my shirt. I almost pulled my knife on the new attacker when I turned to face my father Lunnus who had a worried look plastered across his face. I then noticed I was standing in the kitchen and I was really bleeding on the right side of my face and my father shirt was torn.  
“I was trying to wake you when you attempted to bite and stab me. I apologize in turn for scratching your face,” he hastily explained.  
“I was having another nightmare,” I told him as I relaxed from my fighting stance.  
“I know,” he responded and picked me up and placed me on the counter near the sink. “Why don’t you give me the knife?” he suggested. I reluctantly agreed and he slid the blade in his pocket.  
“Am I crazy?” I asked him.  
He turned on the sink before answering and then grabbed a small black cloth from a drawer just beneath the sink. “No, Shepard. This is just a side effect of your recovery,” he told me calmly. He touched the cloth to my cheek, and I felt a sting, but I was too numb to wince.  
“Will I ever be normal?” I wondered aloud.  
“Normal is overrated. You are special and one day you will realize that, too. Everything will work out, you will see,” he said as he continued to dab at my wound.  
I sighed in exasperation. My father had too much hope and not enough straight answers. “Don’t do that,” he ordered.  
“What?” I played coy.  
“Don’t sigh like that. You should listen to your father. The things I say are useful,” he lectured.  
I nodded and he let me off the counter. “I promise,” I vowed.  
“Come on let us go watch a vid. At least you won't stab me on the couch,” he said as he was taking my hand.  
“Yes, father,” I smiled up at him. It was four in the morning, but I watched horror vid with my turian father. “Don’t tell your mother I let you watch these types of movies,” he commanded.  
“It’s nothing I haven’t seen before,” I responded.  
“Just don’t tell her,” He insisted.  
“Yes, sir,” I saluted him, and we continued watching the hack and slash thriller.  
“I am so proud of you,” he told me as he ruffled my hair.  
“Even though I stab you?” I asked.  
“Even when you stab me,” he confirmed. I smiled and felt completely happy.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Adratus family has left Palaven and go to a Planet called Aephus to try to change ships. The crew objects and the family is further divided. In the larger picture the galaxy is healing and working on the slow process of reconstruction. The population of every species was greatly reduced.

My family travelled in our luxury spaceship for a few more days until we reached a planet called Aephus. It was an important planet to the Turians due to its large shipyard situated planet side. It was one of the largest in existence and where my father’s spectre vessel was hangered. The Reapers had not reached this planet, and thanks to Commander Shepard’s efforts, the locals had fended off Cerberus when they had attacked it during the war. It was mostly inhabited by other Turians and their client species, the Volus.  
By the time we docked I had my bags ready and Draco’s lead was in hand. I met my father at the airlock to finalize our departure preparations. I stopped to note the space my brother should have been before sighing in frustration. My father must have been thinking the same thing as his sigh joined mine. Neither of us being the type to waste time, we set out.  
Once the airlock cycled for the final time, a blast of atmospheric air hit me. The smells of the shipyards hit me, and I felt a sense of relief. This was not the stale, recycled air of a ship. This was the kind of complex mix that only came from a living world. A tug at the lead and sight of my father gaining distance on me brought me back. 

The planet was green between the ships, metal, and concrete. I saw a strange flock of massive four-winged species flying overhead as I followed.   
“Keep up, Shepard,” my father ordered.  
I followed him more closely as I gripped my varren’s leash tightly. The law required pets to be leashes here. Our ship had been docked close to a market and I saw Volus merchants and Turian vendors scattered about the forum. I noticed an Asari among the crowd. The Asari were gorgeous aliens no matter the individual. It was a species trait.  
My father made his way expertly through the markets with me tailing him closely. It was after a ten-minute walk that we reached another dock on the opposite end of the forum. He pulled a piece of shiny metal from his pocket and waved it in front of the door that blocked the dock from being accessed. The door lifted slowly, and we entered. I openly gaped at the massive stealth ship. It rivalled the size of the original Normandy SR1, but this ship was blockier in its design. It was painted black with accents of yellow and it had the words “The Wraith” printed in white on either side of its hull.  
My father seemed to check a few things and shouted to me, “How do you like it Shepard?”  
“It’s amazing!” I shouted back.  
“I have a few more members of my crew flying in and we should be able to leave abord it in a few hours at most,” he informed me after walking back to me.  
“What will Liodus and I do,” I asked excitedly.  
“Well, you and your brother are old enough that you will be valuable members of the crew. You will not be part of the action, but your mother and I will teach you valuable lessons about running a ship and being part of a team. By the time you come of age, you will have more experience than all the other kids combined,” he answered. “It will be a lot of hard work. Are you ready?” he asked.   
I looked at the ship and thought for a moment. “I think so,” I said.  
“That’s my girl,” he ruffled my short hair. “Now go help start moving our stuff over,” he commanded.  
I headed back with Draco, still leashed, across the forum and entered our soon to be old ship. I went to my shared room where Liodus was still stuffing the last of his garments into his bag. I leaned against the doorframe while Draco found something disgusting on the floor to lick at.   
“So, did you see the ship?” Liodus asked me.  
“Yeah. It looks impressive,” I confirmed eagerly.  
My varren yawned and laid on the ground. “Once we get aboard, we will get to be part of the crew. It will be like old times,” he stated happily.  
“So, you’ve been on the ship before?” I questioned.  
“I was born on the Wraith and I spent a lot of time there just before the Reaper’s attacked. Father said it was safer aboard this vessel for some reason,” he told me.  
“Odd,” I remarked. I imagined he meant kid friendlier.   
“Well at least I get to go back. I will miss the gun range and the tv. We can still train in the shuttle bay though,” he told me as he zipped up his bag. The more he talked, the less eager I was to go.   
We both stood as he prepared to exit the room. Seeing the activity, Draco jumped to his feet as I stepped aside to let him through. I walked into the room behind him and strapped on my own backpack. I did not have as many possessions as my brother, so my bag was considerably smaller. I did have to carry the heavy case with my environmental suite in it, though.   
I followed with a case in one hand and a varren leash in the other. Our parents were waiting at the ship for us alongside Tirdas and Rynox.  
“You both look so grown up,” my mother cooed at us. I looked down at my muscular lean flat chested body and back up at her in confusion. I did not think so. My brother looked older though. He always looked like an adult turian, but shorter.  
I noticed a short ramp leading up into the shuttle bay. The ramp was large enough for a moderate vehicle at most. It led to a door that I thought seemed small for a shuttle bay. As I looked up at as we approached, I noted the seam that rose from the middle of the arched opening. The open door we were walking towards was clearly the smallest of three. The two closed sections dwarfing the lone open portal. I felt confident that, had those doors been open, even I would find docking a shuttle to be almost trivial.  
“When will the rest of our crew arrive?” Tirdas asked my father as the two stood outside next to the ramp.  
“Dextaia and Octarnnus will be joining us in just a few minutes,” my father informed the Turian.  
Liodus had made his way into the ship, but my mother and I paused to listen to the conversation.  
“Won’t it be kind of reckless bringing your kids along, Lunnus?” Rynox accused my father, in full view of my mother and me.  
“I have no choice, but to bring them, Rynox” My father hissed at the other Turian angrily getting in his face.  
“Lunnus please stop this,” my mother pleaded in a whisper.  
My father stepped back, however he continued speaking, “Everywhere else is destroyed, Rynox. IF I had a choice, I would send my family away somewhere nicer. At least here with me they have their father and mother in a place that we can make safe!”  
“So! Because Lunnus is a spectre we can go wherever the hell we want and do whatever we want if Lunnus checks in with the council regularly. No matter that we just have to put your entire family in danger!” Rynox angrily yelled at my father and his plan.  
“It sounds like an exceptionally horrible and outlandishly reckless idea, Lunnus!” I heard an unfamiliar Turian voice loudly add to the defiance of my father’s plan.  
“So, what do You suggest I do with them Dextaia?” Father demanded of the approaching female. She was walking with a Turian male I assumed was Octarnnus.   
“You must send your wife and children away. I am sure the citadel is safe enough now. The have cleared out all the dead bodies and most of the wreckage. I was just there with Octarnnus. They even have schools open already. Go there!” She pointed out angrily as if it were the most obvious of choices.  
“Lunnus, they have a point. You must let us go. It won’t be forever,” my mother said to him as she approached her other half.   
I watched as my parents whispered amongst one another just too quietly for me to hear. As they grew silent their foreheads touched intimately. I knew a decision had been reached. They must have known all along that it was the responsible decision to separate, the decision they would always make in the end. It was heartbreaking. As I watched, I felt tears silently fall as they dared not loosen this last embrace. I learned that day just how blind such love can make someone, even for just a few extra hours together.   
I knew what I had to do next and I saw Liodus was way ahead of me. He was already on the ground below the ship and was hugging his father. When he was upset, he made deep pitched almost purring sound. When I heard the noise, I couldn’t hold back and dropped my varren’s leash to run down to join the rocky pile of bodies.  
Lunnus wrapped his arms around us easily and squeezed us as close as possible. My chin scrapped against the edge of his carapace. “I love you both,” he choked out as the echo from his translator became more pronounced, “Don’t ignore my calls, behave your mother, and do good in school is all I ask. Can you do that for me?”  
I nodded as I sniffled and swiped the tears that were tickling my nose. It felt like I was bound to grow up without a father. They were always leaving me, I thought bitterly as my heart began to ache.  
“Yes, Father,” My brother agreed obediently.   
Our father let us go and our mother guided us away from our father. I snapped my fingers and Draco ran quickly over and followed beside me with is leash dragging in the dirt behind him. He was full grown now and was at least half my height. He was quite the creature to behold with all those large white teeth, that navy blue spiked spine, and extremely sharp claws. It was painfully obvious that the leash was purely for show.  
“Will we get to see father again, mother?” My brother asked in defeat as he walked back to our other ship.  
“Of course, Liodus. He will have to report back to the citadel after each mission. It might be a couple months, but he will come back,” She tensely explained to him. She was trying to persuade herself that he would come back soon, too.  
I could see she was incredibly tense. I had not seen her mandibles twitch like this since I had first met her; the day she had went to claim Bruter’s corpse. Us leaving Lunnus was upsetting her as much as that day. I wished I could do something to make her feel better as I remembered this, but I just followed beside her in silence. I was overwhelming sad, too. Liodus grasped my fingers and I was surprised at first but gripped his hand tightly in the half a second it took me to realize his intent. Holding my brother’s hand during emotional turmoil was the best coping mechanism. He needed the support just as much as I needed it. We were going through this trauma together and I felt at ease that I was not alone in my grief.  
We made it back to our original ship and entered as it readied for take-off. Liodus was practicing alone in the gun range with the rifle he once excitedly showed Garrus and Solana as I was desperately trying to focus on my Elcorian holonovel. A dark cloud hung around the ship well after our mother piloted us through the atmosphere.  
My mother managed to make it about a week before we were forced to stop at a fueling station that was in the Treble star system. It was located quite near the mass relay and I was looking out through the living room window as I leaned against the arm of the couch from my seat on the floor. You could see nearly the entire Turian home system from here. Palaven looked so small from up here. I wished it were an actual basketball so I could play with it like I had when I was human. I missed shooting hoops with my human brothers and cousins.  
“What are you thinking about, Shepard?” My Turian brother asked from his position on the couch where he was lazily lounging.  
“I am trying to picture myself playing basketball,” I told him.  
“What is that? A human game?” he asked.  
“It’s a game that requires a bouncing orange ball made of rubber, a set of baskets that are attached to poles on either ends of a concrete court about 30 meters wide,” I explained to him in great detail, “And the purpose is to throw the ball in the other team’s basket with five players on the court at a time.”  
“You must really have liked the sport a lot if you explained it in such detail,” He said to me.  
“No, but my brothers did. They watched it with the loyal following of cultists every day their team came on. They were called the Roosevelt Badgers,” I told him.   
“That is a goofy name,” he commented.  
“The worst,” I agreed with a smile. I continued to stare out the window as I stroked my dog’s head which laid comfortably in my lap. My brother half-heartedly watched some of Lunnus’s favorite vids on the tv.  
A few hours later, as we were jumping through the relay, I felt my heart leap in my chest. I felt a little nauseous from the process because I was staring directly out the window when the ship jumped. It would be several hours until our ship reached the Serpent Nebula where the Reaper’s had moved the Citadel back into place. They had been both guarding as well as helping to speed up the reconstruction.   
Have you ever been to the citadel, Liodus?” I asked my brother.  
“Not once. Father and Garrus say there are too many rules and regulations there. So, I never got to go,” he admitted bitterly.  
“What is with their war on rules?” I asked him.  
“Garrus thinks that they are inefficient. Father just doesn’t like to be controlled,” Liodus answered.   
“Well, that sounds awful if you put it like that,” I decided.  
“We’ll see,” he replied casually.   
I continued gazing out the window and I quickly fell asleep. It had been a stressful day.  
“Shepard, its time to get up,” I heard my mother say from above me. She kicked my foot in impatience.  
I squinted up at her as I was trying to blink away the material clouding my vision and when my eyes gained focus I saw she was holding a hand out to me. I grabbed it sleepily and I was awakened quickly by the upward momentum of standing up quickly. I felt dizzy for a second and looked around dizzily to see Liodus and my varren were gone and the room was dark.  
“Where is Draco?” I asked drowsily.  
“We must leave the ship, Shepard,” my mother insisted. “We will catch up to your brother in just a few minutes.”   
I nodded and she turned on the assumption I would follow her, and I did. Our shuttle bay doors were open, and our single black shuttle was already running and waiting for us to take off. My mother entered the shuttle, and I slid the shuttle door closed behind us once I was inside. I seated myself in the front passenger seat next to her pilot’s seat.  
“What happened while I was asleep?” I asked her as she took off.   
Our ship had been docked in a hanger on the Citadel and I almost did not hear my mother speak when I noticed my surroundings. There were thousands of sky cars and other shuttles of different species origins flying around us trying to go to their own destinations around the great city and space station.   
“Your brother and Draco are waiting at our apartment that we have been assigned by the council. I dropped him off earlier while you slept,” She answered.  
“Why didn’t you wake me?” I asked her.  
“You looked so peaceful and I know that you hardly ever get restful sleep. I just couldn’t interrupt that,” She answered affectionately.  
I felt my face blush as I smiled shyly. “Thank you, mother,” I said to her.  
“No problem,” she replied.  
I watched as hundreds of homes passed along with greenery and sparkling water. The architecture was very smooth, pristine, and white with large glass windows. It looked dangerous to live here with all the windows. A sniper’s dream.  
My mother seemed to head to a place that was very near the Presidium as I would soon learn it was called. She was able to park near a landing looking down into much of the city and into the artificial lake. She expertly landed the shuttle on our designated shuttle pad. When my mother has said apartment, I had not pictured a two-story luxury apartment. It even had a small pool and a landing with green turf grass.  
“Holy cow,” I said as I exited the shuttle after opening the door. The air was not like landing on a planet but being in our spaceship’s stale air.   
“That is an odd expression,” my mother remarked as she exited the craft from behind me. She placed her hand on my shoulder as we stared up at the building. “How do you like it?” she asked.  
“It is so cool,” I answered in awe.   
“Well go ahead and find your brother. I have some business I need to go take care of,” She told me.  
“Are you leaving?” I panicked.  
She started reentering the shuttle and turned to close the door. Before she shut it, she said, “I will be back in a few hours. Your brother is in charge.”  
She closed the door without another word or waiting for my response. I was forced to walk away from the shuttle, so she had enough room to take off. I entered the apartment through its glass door and noticed my brother was laying on a new couch watching something on the new tv in front of him.  
“What are you watching?” I asked as I shut the door behind me.  
He looked over the back of the couch to see me in the entryway. “Hi. I am just trying to see if there are any interesting vids on the extranet here. I am not familiar with this television service,” he said.  
“Where is Draco,” I asked him another question.  
“Upstairs. Second door to the right,” he pointed toward the staircase that led to the second floor.  
I immediately turned and walked the few steps to the stairs and ascended the black staircase and noticed the glass case of vines descending the wall on the path of the staircase. These plants provided some of the apartment’s oxygen and removed carbon dioxide, too. It was a natural solution rather than a technical one.   
I found the door Liodu’s had directed me to. There were a total of four doors upstairs and one would have to be the bathroom. I would have to find that out later.   
I twisted the door handle and when I opened the door I saw my varren trying to push his head through the door to get to me faster. I swung open the door he lifted himself while supporting himself on his back legs. The varren gripped my shoulders with his massive paws and licked my face with his slimy tongue.   
I hugged him and was able to quickly get him down my just pushing his massive amount of weight off me so I could enter the room. He jumped down and wagged his tail happily as I entered the room. I attempted to wipe my face of his drool when I saw my new room. I had my own queen-sized bed, a dresser, and a closet. There was a massive window that took up the whole right wall. I could see that I had a shared balcony with the room adjacent to mine with a door leading out to it next to my bed.  
My suitcase was at the foot of the bed alongside the case that held my environmental suite. I smiled when I noticed that Draco was curling up in a varren sized fluffy blue bed that I assumed my mother had purchased for him.   
I leapt onto the bed in a laying position and I stretched out my arms in a Y shape. It was such a nice soft cozy bed. And that is when I continued where I had been before and fell asleep. It was like paradise on a mattress this soft to the touch.


	7. First Time on The Citadel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The children's first day on the citadel and the first day of school. Liodus and Shepard bond with a new friend.

The next morning after dressing in my usual garments I headed down the stairs to investigate. My varren’s claws tapped against the staircase as we descended, and you could hear them making the same sound as he crossed the wooden floor of the deserted living room.  
“Good morning Shepard!” I heard Liodus call from around the corner. I followed the source of his voice through the open corridor and saw my brother was sitting at a large kitchen island with a bowl full of mushy green stuff. He had left the packaging by the sink and I watched as my mother noticed and discarded it in a trashcan hidden under the sink.  
“I am cooking you some of this egg mix and there should be something called a toast coming out of the thing so cleverly called a toaster in just a few minutes,” my mother explained she stirred a yellow soupy mixture in a silver skillet. The stovetop was flat and electric.

“Thank you,” I said as I seated myself on the island stool next to Liodus. My varren noticed a large metal dish that contained an incredibly large amount of ground red meat of unknown origin. He started downing it quite happily.  
“What is the plan today?” my brother asked my mother after taking a bite.  
“Well, I had to go enroll you both in an academy with individuals as gifted as you,” She explained proudly.  
“So private school,” Liodus replied.  
I was not worried about the type of school. I was more concerned that I was being considered gifted. Was I gifted?  
My mother finished cooking the eggs and the toast popped up from the toaster. “I am sorry if the food is undercooked. I didn’t want it to turn brown.”  
Somehow my parents both were able to cook my meals properly. The eggs were a little runny, but the toast was perfectly toasted. I just wished that I had had butter, sugar, and cinnamon. I loved whenever I got to taste sweetness or saltiness. My food almost always lacked flavor unless the meal was pre-seasoned.  
“How does it taste?” she asked me as I shoveled the eggs in my mouth.  
“It is good,” I lied.  
“I am glad,” she said cheerfully. I waited to eat more until she left the kitchen seconds later.  
“Bland?” my brother inquired.  
“Yes,” I confirmed.  
“Cabinet to your upper left,” he pointed out.  
I left the chair and fetched some salt and sugar from the cabinet and found some imitation butter in the refrigerator. My meal now tasted amazing.  
“Thank you,” I said to Liodus.  
“Anytime,” he replied.  
We finished breakfast and tossed our dishes in the sink. We headed into the living room and sat on the couch to wait for our mother’s next move.  
“So, what now?” I asked Liodus.  
“Well since mom is enrolling us as we speak, we should probably go prepare for school,” he suggested.  
“I haven’t been to school in two years,” I remembered in horror.  
“I have never been to school,” He confessed.  
“It’s the worst. Other kids bully you. At least the human ones,” I told him sourly.  
“What about Garrett? He’s a nice human kid,” he pointed out.  
“There has to be victims for there to be bullies,” I said darkly.  
My mother had partially overheard our conversation.  
“Oh, hush Shepard. School will not be like that at all,” She assured me.  
“What is it like?” Liodus asked her.  
“It’s where you learn things and make friends. At least that is what I expect of you two,” She warned.  
“Am I allowed to defend myself?” I pushed.  
My mother sighed in exasperation and left the room and headed up the stairs. She stopped at the top of the stairs and yelled, “We’re leaving in twenty minutes. Be ready.”  
I looked toward the corridor that led to the kitchen and watched as my varren exited the kitchen and came towards me. He was licking his lips and led me to wonder if he would be coming with me to school.  
“If Draco comes, we will be safe,” I told my brother.  
“I don’t think that would be allowed,” He chuckled as he pointed out.  
“Your probably right. I am going to freak out over my appearance. See you in twenty minutes,” I said to him as I stood.  
He shook his head in amusement and said, “Whatever you say sis.”  
Twenty minutes later…  
My brother and mother were waiting at the foot of the stairs as my varren followed behind me. “Draco will spend the day with me, Shepard,” Mother decided.  
I sighed in resignation and looked down at my fearsome pet who was wagging his tail excitedly. “Come Draco,” I ordered.  
Draco leapt forward and my brother and mother were forced to move out of the doorway to let my varren run through. He eagerly sat next to the shuttle that was parked and waiting for us outside. We joined him and opened the shuttle door for him. The varren leapt in and seated himself in the shuttle’s front passenger seat. Liodus and I buckled ourselves in back as our mother took the pilot’s seat.  
“Are you two nervous?” my mother asked as she prepped the shuttle to leave.  
I had survived things that no other child my age had. I was able to fight with my own brother who stood at least a foot over me. “Yes,” I answered her honestly.  
“Only a little,” Liodus added.  
She smiled back at us. “You two will love it,” She declared cheerfully.  
Liodus and I shared a look of doubt as she took off. Our mother flew the shuttle over the top of the Presidium to join the flow of traffic. It did not take her long to find the place she was looking for.  
The academy housed a very large sky car lot where I noticed that sky cars were parked, and one red car flew off as we landed in an empty space. The lot was void of life.  
“You two just have to make your way inside. Just tell the ladies up front your names and I am sure they will guide you to your classes,” My mother said turning to look at us over the pilot’s seat.  
“We’re going alone,” I freaked.  
“Don’t worry Shepard. You have done this before. No one is going to hurt you,” she assured.  
I felt doubtful as I watched Liodus slide open the shuttle door. I exited the craft behind him. We walked side by side and stopped a few feet from the entrance so we could watch our mother leave.  
“Ready?” my brother breathed.  
“No,” I said.  
“Well let’s go inside,” he decided and grabbed my hand to lead me forward.  
I was forced to follow him through the large grey metal double doors. They automatically swung shut behind me and I was faced with a large school with lockers, hallways, and a reception desk immediately to our left.  
“Lucky us,” I scowled.  
“Come on,” my brother pulled me toward the desk where a human female was seated.  
“May I help you?” the woman asked my brother. I could tell she couldn’t see me as I stood behind Liodus.  
“My sister and I are currently enrolled. Our mother told us you could help us,” He told her.  
“What are your names?” The woman asked.  
“My name is Liodus Adratus and My sister’s name is Shepard,” He answered.  
“Thank you. Just give me one second to input that into the computer so I can pull up your schedules,” she told him as she typed on the computer atop the desk.  
We waited a few moments and walked away from the desk for a moment. She had gone around the desk to step in the hall to meet us. She paused for a moment when she saw that we were different species. “I have this one for your sister,” she said holding out a datapad to me.  
I took it and she handed the other to my brother.  
“Thank you,” Liodus told her as he took it.  
“You will both have the same homeroom as your mother requested. The teacher will direct you to your next class from there,” She explained.  
“And where is our homeroom?” Liodus asked as he examine the datapad.  
“Just follow this hallway all the way down until you reach room 106 on the left, “she told us as she gestured to the hall straight ahead.  
Liodus gripped my hand again and led me down the hall without another word. He hunted for the number 106 and found it just three doors from the end of the hall to our left. The door was wide open like some of the others we had passed.  
The classroom was nearly empty as we walked in and the black digital clock at the back of the room read 9:54 A.M. in large white print. The silver desks were welded in a desk and chair combination. The seats were cushioned with a smooth black fabric and half of the desks surface was a computer monitor of some sort. It made me think of the plain wooden desk in my old school.  
The teacher was a green skinned salarian male. He pointed to the chairs and said, “please take a seat wherever you like.”  
“After you,” Liodus signaled for me to go first.  
I sighed nervously and walked between the second and third row closest to the door. I went all the way to the back which was six seats from the front of the room with Liodus taking the desk to my immediate left in the second row. I chose that back because I knew Liodus would sit beside me and his head fringe was a bit long and difficult to see over.  
We waited for the rest of the time and every few seconds a new person would walk in. By the time the class started at 10:01 due to a late arrival, there were 20 students. The class consisted of eight Humans, nine Turians, and a Quarian. I did not know whether to include myself as the ninth Human or the tenth Turian, so I didn’t choose to classify myself in my headcount. I was nervous as I looked around the room at the variety and lack of variety of my fellow aliens. This was the first time I had seen multiple other Turian children and a long time since I had seen other human children.  
The Turian children had chosen to seat themselves closer to the door in the first two rows in front of Liodus and the humans were on the other with an empty seat directly in front of me. Most of the kids seemed to know one another and divided themselves by species. The quarian was in the desk to my right.  
Class begun with our teacher speaking, “Okay class, some of you have had homeroom with me before, but to those of you that are new I am your instructor Ukar Zanick. You may call me Professor Zanik. This classroom is your home base of operations and you can ask me any question you may have, or I can give you pointers to your other classes. Don’t hesitate to ask, I get paid to help you,” The Salarian informed us.  
I glanced to the female Quarian to my right who was fidgeting with her datapad by spinning it on one edge with her fingers on the surface of her desk. Liodus was twiddling his thumbs and trying to stay still long enough to listen. I was bored out of my mind and trying to ignore everyone who was either staring at the Quarian or me. I hoped it was not me.  
The professor continued speaking, “The hour in the morning that you spend here is a good time to touch back with your classmates here and catch up on your assignments before your main classes. Please stay safe and again do not hesitate to ask me questions. You are now free to mingle amongst one another.”  
This school seemed to be so much more progressive than any of my old human classes back on Earth I noticed. I remembered classes starting at eight in the morning and we started with the Pledge of Allegiance since I grew up in the United States of America. I wish I could remember the name of my hometown or the name of the school. I only attended from kindergarten to third grade in a public school.  
I turned on the datapad and it didn’t even have a grade listed on it, but it listed about four one-hour classes with a thirty-minute lunch at 11:30. Homeroom lasted thirty minutes and my first class was physical education, of course.  
I looked over at Liodus who was also viewing his schedule. He noticed I was looking and pointed to his datapad’s screen to show me that we both had P.E. as our first class. I went down his list of classes to see that I shared a history class with him after lunch and a literature class after that. The last class is where we differed. He had a different math class than me.  
I stopped to look behind me at the time and the clock read 10:10. Today was going to be a long day I imagined. The other students were standing up and moving around the room. I looked to the Quarian and asked,” Is this your first day, too?”  
“No, I have been in this school for a total of two years. This must be your first day,” She answered.  
“Mine and my brother’s,” I confirmed as I gestured to my brother beside me.  
“Your brother is a turian? That’s cool,” She remarked.  
I nodded in agreement. The clock read 10:12. I whipped my head back around to the Turian side of the room. There were so many tattooed faces with so many colors. I felt like I wanted to run out of here. 10:15.  
I laid my head on my desk and waited for the bell that rang when the clock tolled 10:30. I nearly jumped out of my seat and made my way down the row with Liodus close on my heels before anyone else could stand. We didn’t even ask for assistance and just followed the pattern of room numbers to the Gymnasium marked room 153. Our instructor told us to pick a locker in the room specific to our gender after giving us a lock to put on our chosen locker.  
I looked to Liodus who turned his back to head to the boy’s locker room and I headed for the girl’s. I was not the first this time and I noticed the four Human girls from my home room and two Turian females from a different class.  
I felt so out of place as I entered the room. The two Turians females were sitting next to one another chatting, while the four human girls were standing in a half circle giggling to one another. I tried to go unnoticed to a locker away from everyone. I was not a feeling to social through my nervous state of mind.  
“Who is that?” I heard one of the Human girls whisper to her friends.  
“I don’t know. Never seen her before,” another whispered back.  
I rolled my eyes as I fastened my lock to a locker at my eye level. I was glad I knew how to defend myself this time. I refused to let myself be bullied again.  
After the lock was placed, I made my way back out into the gym where my brother was waiting with two other Turians he had met. He was chatting with them happily and he turned to me as I walked up.  
“Guys this is my little sister. Sis this is Orion and Tyhelnes,” he introduced me to his companions.  
“Most people just call me Ty,” the taller brown one told me as he shook my hand. He had white tattoos.  
I was looking at the silver Turian with ice blue eyes looking back at me. He had no facial tattoos at all. “What is your name?” the clanless Turian asked me.  
I almost didn’t want to speak as he waited for me to answer. Liodus noticed my hesitation and looked a little worried. He answered for me, “her name is Shepard.”  
“Can you speak, Shepard?” Orion asked me.  
I had never seen a clanless turian before. “I can,” I answered standoffishly.  
“So where are you two from?” Ty asked my brother after a brief silence.  
“Nowhere in particular. We both grew up aboard our parents ship,” Lio answered.  
“So, you won’t be staying long then,” Orion assumed.  
“I don’t know. We just got here. I don’t know what my mother’s plans are,” he told them honestly.  
“Well, I hope you stay. It would mean that our teams would be evenly numbered in gym today,” Ty told us.  
“What side would I be on?” I asked reservedly.  
“The girls’ team,” he told me.  
I felt a sense of relief that the teams were divided by sex rather than race like I had been anticipating they would be.  
Shortly after our conversation our human teacher came out. ‘Alright! All of you stand on the line in front of you! We’re going to start class with a few stretches so give each other plenty of space,” she directed.  
The class went through a few stretches and the rest of was quite tame and our workout included running laps during the last twenty minutes of the class. the class  
My brother was waiting for me outside the girl’s locker room. “How did you like school?” I asked him.  
“I think we would learn more under cousin Garrus’s tutelage than here, but it is better than staying home,” he admitted to me.  
“That’s true. Will mother be picking us up? Have you heard from her?” I said to him.  
“Just give me a moment to ask her,” he told me as he pulled up his omnitool and proceeded contact our mother. A small holographic image of her appeared in front of us. She was standing tall and I could tell she was not on her way.  
“Liodus, my son, how was your first day of school? Is Shepard with you?” She greeted him enthusiastically.  
“It was pretty calm. We learned a little and made it out without an incident,” he reported.  
I moved closer to Liodus and our shoulders were touching as we both looked down at our mother. “How was your first day, Shepard?” she asked me.  
“As Lio said. Nothing interesting happened,” I told her nonchalantly.  
“Well at least you two didn’t get into any fights. I am sure that you will like attending classes in time,” she conceded.  
“So, we are staying,” I whispered almost sorrowfully.  
Liodus wrapped his arm around my shoulder in concern. My mother didn’t hear me and so continued speaking, “Unfortunately I won’t be able to pick you up today. I must meet with some members of the turian embassy in order to settle your father’s affairs. Please follow the instructions I am sending to your omnitool and I will see you both later tonight. I love you both and I expect you to stay safe,” She told us as she was speaking rapidly. He heard footsteps approaching from the holocall and the small holographic image of her disappeared and his main screen of his omnitool replaced her.  
I stepped away from Liodus as he opened the written messages that contained the “instructions” sent by our mother. She had sent a detailed map with the route to a gaming arcade that she would pick us up from at eight o’clock that night. “Our mother really is that best,” I told my brother in complete awe.  
“Well at least you’re in a better mood. Perhaps they’ll have some sort of virtual combat arena and we’ll both be happy,” he replied.  
“Well let’s go,” I proceeded forward joyously.  
His reserved expression lifted, and he relaxed as he followed me out of the school. Not many people got to see my brother truly relaxed like I did. We didn’t have to pretend or behave in a certain manner with one another; We could just be ourselves.  
We were just making it out of the parking lot when someone was hollering at us from behind. “Liodus!” I heard the Turian Ty shout out to my brother as he came running up to us.  
“Is something wrong?” Liodus asked in confusion.  
“No, I just wanted to see where you were headed. Are you going anywhere fun?” Ty said to them coolly.  
“We are headed to an arcade that our mother expects us to be at that is not far from here,” Liodus informed him.  
“Mind if I tag along?” he asked them.  
“Not at all,” Liodus enlisted him.  
I didn’t say anything as the three of us continued down the street. The streets were scarce of other people. The fake sun was blocked by the ceiling that covered the street that we walked upon. The buildings that surrounded us were houses of the wealthy and upper class. We were so close to the Presidium where the council was located.  
“Did mother also send money for us to game with?” I decided to ask as we strolled.  
“Don’t worry we have plenty of money through our shared bank account,” he informed me composedly.  
“We have a bank account?” I reacted in shock. I had money!?  
“Only for emergencies,” he told me ominously.  
“And gaming at arcades,” Ty added helpfully.  
“That’s alright then,” I agreed hesitantly.  
We kept walking about three blocks and we were faced with slightly more crowded streets and the largest arcade I had ever seen. There were a few individuals resting on the steps of the building with different activities occupying their attention. There was even a game of holographic chess being played right in the arcade’s lobby between two Human children.  
“This place isn’t bad. Nothing like back on Palaven,” Liodus claimed proudly.  
“Thought you were spacers,” Ty remarked casually.  
“I grew up on Palaven before the war started,” he told him truthfully.  
“I am from Earth,” I added carefully.  
“Huh. I am just from here. Family’s been in the courier business for as long as I can remember,” he told them plainly.  
“What about the Reapers? I thought the Citadel was hit hard, but it looks so pristine. How are so many unscathed?” I realized as I looked around anxiously.  
“Calm down Shepard,” Liodus commanded as he gripped my shoulder as reassurance.  
I breathed deeply and waited for Ty to answer, “My family was forced to join the war effort and our ship was pressed into doing cargo runs between the Citadel’s fleets. We weren’t in front line danger, but the threat was always present. I was with them despite the danger. We had no other choice.”  
“Did everyone in your family survive?” I asked.  
“Yes. We were lucky. What brought you guys here anyways?” he changed the subject tactfully.  
“Our mother thought it would be the safest place in the galaxy,” Liodus answered reservedly.  
Ty seemed to back off and we all silently moved further into the arcade to proceed with finding a game that was would let us train in the art of combat. We all split up to cover more ground quickly.  
I walked among the brightly colored games that had names like “Space Smash” and “Krogan War-Thunder”. I hurried along when Liodus called out my name when he spotted me. When I looked up he waved me over and I went to him and Ty who were waiting patiently.  
“I don’t see an arena, but there are some VR gaming rigs over on the far wall that we can use instead,” he suggested.  
“Let’s do this,” I confirmed happily.  
We proceeded to the far wall where three VR headsets waited for us as if it was destiny. I walked up to the one waiting for me started calibrating it for my preferences. “What map did you want to try?” I asked Liodus.  
“Well, we have a new recruit to break in, so let’s keep it mellow,” he answered.  
“I’m sure I am not a green as you two make me out to be,” Ty protested immediately.  
I selected the map that would benefit us and ignored Ty’s protest. “Just follow our lead,” I told Ty confidently.  
He acted a little concerned by our extreme attitude as he joined us in launching the virtual reality game that we had chosen. It was a shooter with the player’s working as a team to take out all the enemies. The goal was to get as many points as possible by outsmarting targets and killing them as creatively as possible. It was a true test of our skills and it was great fun!  
Our feet met on rough, rocky terrain and I was dressed in a blue set of plain armor and holding a shotgun. The gun looked like a crude version of my real shotgun. Liodus was using an automatic assault rifle this time around and our companion sported a semi-automatic handgun.  
“Are you ready?” I asked them.  
“Let’s move,” Liodus confirmed.  
“This will be fun,” Ty declared.  
We both nodded in agreement and set forth toward the ruins that would be where the enemy would most likely spawn.  
“What are we hunting?” Ty asked them.  
“Varren,” I answered.  
“And I only have a handgun,” he noted gloomily.  
“It will work out. Liodus and I have trained like this a lot,” I told him.  
“Train? This is a video game,” he pointed out.  
“It’s war,” I stated seriously.  
“Here they come,” Liodus shouted.  
“Get into cover!” I yelled as I dove behind the safety of a virtual storage crate.  
“Don’t let them get too close. Their teeth hurt,” I shouted at Ty.  
“Don’t worry. I have thick skin!” he shouted back.  
I took the first shot and managed to get my first headshot. As the varren fell a hundred points was added to our counter.  
Liodus fired and hit one in the chest and it fell giving us 50 points. Ty aimed a scored us another 35 with a lung shot. He wasn’t bad. We kept shooting and racked up 535 points in the first round. “Let’s move toward stage two,” Liodus ordered and he led the way as we followed.  
“You guys are good,” Ty concluded when we had finished three more rounds of the game.  
“You were better than we thought. You will be a valuable addition to our future matches,” Shepard told him.  
“I would like to hang with you guys again,” Ty told us when we returned to reality by take our helmets off.  
Liodus answered after getting his bearings, “I hope so, too. I will let you know when we can do something like this again and we will all get together again.”  
“Do you guys have to be anywhere else or can we all sit and eat some pizza while we’re here?” Ty asked us.  
“I can’t say no,” I looked to Liodus for confirmation as the oldest.  
“I’m in,” Liodus affirmed.  
We ate pizza happily and bonded with Ty until he received a message from one of his parents asking him to return home. It was about six o’clock when he left. We both stayed at our pizza table and I pulled out my datapad from my large inner pocket where I kept it and started to read a book. Liodus wrote a letter to our father and then our cousins. He finished that and began reading something on his omnitool.  
Eight o’clock rolled around and our mother walked into the Arcade. I noticed her presence due catching sight of my varren’s blue and white scaley skin in the corner of my eye. I tapped Liodus on the arm and we both stood up to reunite with her.  
She hugged both of us at the same time and my varren rubbed his body against my metal leg. He was trying to be affectionate, too. I let him lick the palm of my hand as my mother took a moment to let go. “I am so glad to see the two of you. I did a lot today and all I could think about was you two,” she told us after she sighed in relief.  
“Are we going home?” I asked her drowsily.  
“Let’s go. We will get you two a proper dinner and we will sit and watch a vid before bed,” she said as she loosened her grip and led us by the shoulders out of the arcade. We went back to the house from earlier and I got to sleep in the soft bed again without the nightmares from before.


	8. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A pretty great weekend for the Adratus's.

Several weeks passed quickly and in a similar manner. Our mother would take us to school and take my varren along on with her while we attended school. After we would either get to return home with her and do our homework at home or she would give us directions to a new place that we could hang out until she collected us at eight o’clock on those nights.  
When I wasn’t with my brother, I got to hang out with some of the girls at my school. The girls on the track team were actively trying to recruit me. “Are you going to take them up on the offer?” Liodus asked me as we sat down for breakfast that Saturday morning.  
“It would probably be a good idea,” I told him as I stirred my cereal with my spoon.  
“You don’t have to ask our mother if that’s what your worried about. She would say yes,” he informed me.  
“I am not worried about that. If I join any sort of sport, I will be spending less time with Draco and hee hasn’t got to spend a lot of time with me since I started school,” I told him.  
I looked down at the floor where he was happily chowing down on his breakfast in his massive bowl. This animal had to eat far more than any dog I had ever owned. I was just glad we were able to feed him ground meat when his species usually required live prey.  
“I understand. Varren can be demanding pets,” he remarked.  
“They are,” I agreed.  
“Do you have any plans today?” he asked me.  
“I thought that I could take Draco with me and go exploring. We have been to several places already, but I haven’t got to explore the neighborhood around us,” I answered.  
“Make sure that you don’t get lost and you shouldn’t go too far with Mom gone,” he warned.  
“Where is she always going to? I thought she was retired from military service,” I wondered.  
“She is working. She has been using our old ship and leasing it out to important dignitaries. She is their guide, pilot, and bodyguard all at the same time,” he told me.  
“Isn’t that dangerous?” I asked. I was immediately concerned.  
“It can be, but it keeps food on the table, and she knows what she’s doing. She was a Captain before I was even born,” he replied.  
“Wow. I hope that I am at least half as fortunate as them when I grow up,” I admitted.  
“Hard work and perseverance,” he stated simply.  
“Well right now it’s a lazy day. Hard work can till tomorrow,” I proclaimed as I dumped my breakfast dish in the sink. I snapped my fingers and my Varren hastily ate the remaining ground meat and skidded across the tile to my side. He wagged his tail happily as his tongue lulled out of his mouth. He was panting and ready to go outside.  
I walked through the living room and exited through the front door with my pet walking beside me. I descended a staircase that was a block away from our house and it led me down to the street beneath us. There was a grassy park with sitting areas. It had all sorts of beautiful flowers and fountains to enjoy. I passed it by as I continued walking.  
I didn’t have a particular goal in mind as I kept walking. The streets were peaceful on this simulated sunny day. Finally, I stopped when I was gazing up at the Krogan memorial in the Presidium. The great lake that surrounded the enormous statue always made Krogan fantasize about the possibility of fish inhabitants. There were no fish in here because it was the Citadel’s drinking water.  
I leaned over the railing to look at the water myself and Draco stood on his back legs and rested his front paws on the rail as I did. He even leaned over and lapped up some of the water from the pool and I had to quickly grab his collar to keep him from falling in. I pulled him back and he came to rest on all fours once more.  
“Let’s go somewhere else before you get me into trouble,” I told him.  
He happily followed me as I began wandering further away. This trip reminded me of all the walking I had to do when I was wandering around in a wasteland. This place had been hit pretty hard, too. It made me wonder how Earth was faring with their reconstruction.  
“That Varren of yours looks pretty tasty human. You should keep it on a leash,” I heard an angry gruff voice from behind me.  
I spun around to see a Krogan male standing before me. “I am sorry, sir. I completely forgot,” I apologized sincerely as I pulled out the lead from my other inner pocked and attached it to the black collar around his neck.  
“Now, run along before you get in more trouble,” the male grumbled as he walked away. You could hear his massive footsteps as he left.  
I decided to backtrack a little and wander closer to home when I found another park that had more trees and was a little less ostentatious than the park below my house. I chose to sit on a bench below the second largest tree in the park where I could read one of my novels in peace. Draco sat with me peacefully for almost an hour when suddenly some sort of insect landed on his nose and he ate. He opened his mouth very rapidly and it was a little frightening to watch. He licked his lips and laid his head back down to resume his slumber.  
Liodus-  
It was a little odd with the house being this empty and Liodus felt like he wanted to go with his sister. Unlike Shepard, Liodus did not like having all this alone time. He wondered if Shepard was going through some sort of phase of or if she was normally this independent.  
He decided that it wouldn’t help him in any way by worrying about her at this moment. He decided to do the dishes that took him only a few minutes. After he was done, he wondered if his friend from school would be willing to come over. He tapped his wrist where the omnitool’s main display popped up and he scrolled to his calling app. He made a call to his friend Ty agreed quickly to coming over. Liodus happily ended the call and Ty would be over at his house right before lunch.  
“I could order out since mother isn’t home,” he suggested to himself.  
He went with the plan to order pizza that would arrive at noon and he spent the time waiting for his friend by tidying up the house. He also brought the gaming console located in his room down to play in the living room.  
Half past eleven rolled around and he heard a distinct knock at the door. When he answered the door Ty and Orion were standing before him. They two had walked here from Ty’s place where Orion had stayed the night.  
“Welcome to my house,” Liodus invited them inside.  
“Thank you. I hope bringing Orion wasn’t a problem,” Ty said to him as he entered the house.  
“I don’t mind. The more the merrier as Humans say,” he replied cheerfully.  
“Thank you.” Orion bowed his head.  
“Anytime. I even ordered some pizza for us since it is almost lunch time,” Liodus claimed.  
“You really do think of everything,” Ty remarked.  
“Someone has to,” Liodus told him as his two guests seated themselves on the living room couch. He turned on the tv and sat in the armchair that was located beside the couch.  
“Where is the rest of your family today?” Ty asked him.  
“My mother is working, and Shepard went out for the day,” he answered.  
“Your mom gives you guys a lot of freedom,” Orion pointed out enviously. “My mom only lets me go out if she knows I am with Ty or if she knows their parents,” he complained.  
“Shepard is kind of independent. She isn’t supposed to go out alone, but my mom let’s her only because she has a Varren,” Orion told them.  
“Whoa! My mom won’t even let me keep a fish!” Ty stated in awe.  
Liodus was beginning to feel a bit spoiled. He had not intended to start this type of conversation.  
“Why don’t we start the game? I thought you guys would like this one,” Liodus suggested as he handed them each a controller that he had laid out on the coffee table before them.  
The pizza arrived shortly after they had started their second match.  
Shepard-  
I was deep into reading when my stomach grumbled, and I looked over at Draco. He was staring at me with a look of expectation. I stood and hastily reinserted the datapad in my inner pocket before picking up his leash. He jumped off the bench and took a moment to shake, stretch, and then yawn. After this procedure I recognized the look that told me he was waiting for me to proceed.  
I looked at the clock on my omnitool that read out that it was around twelve o’clock. I really hoped that we had some food I could make myself in the cabinet. Mother was not able to go shopping today due to her work.  
I was able to make it back by one. I heard laughing as I entered the house. My brother was playing video games with his friend Ty with three empty plates and three cans of soda taking up space on the coffee table.  
“Hello,” I greeted simply as I stuffed Draco’s leash back into my pocket.  
Draco ignored them as he ventured upstairs to where my room was. The door was closed so he sat patiently in front of it at the top of the stairs.  
“Hey, Shepard!” Ty greeted me happily with a wave. He couldn’t say more because he was trying to concentrate on the match.  
“There is a medium cheese pizza in the kitchen that is safe for you to eat. And your favorite soda in the refrigerator,” Liodus told me quickly.  
I smiled and made my way to the kitchen where I nearly collided with the Turian from my homeroom. The one with no tattoos.  
He had held the plate above his head as a precaution, but I stopped myself just in time. I was able to dodge under his arm and maneuver gracefully around him. He looked surprised and watched me as I entered the kitchen. “Is everything alright?” I asked when I noticed he was still watching me.  
“Nothing. I am fine,” he said dismissively and turned to head back into the living room.  
I shook my head and focused on my hunt for food. I retrieved a plate, the pizza, the soda, and darted up the stairs to my room. I had to let Draco in first before I was able to enter the room. When I was inside, I shared the pizza with my pet and watched an old tv series on the tablet that I usually used for schoolwork.  
I finished the first episode and started another. I heard a knock on my door when I was three-fourths of the way through it.  
“Come in,” I directed.  
My mother was the one to enter. I felt my mood lift considerably as she made her way inside and seated herself on my bed.  
“How is everything in here? What are you watching?” She questioned.  
“It’s about a crime solving priest. Very wacky,” I told her.  
“I am glad that you still enjoy television shows from Earth, but we have to talk,” she told me seriously.  
“What is it?” I asked her. I felt a bit nervous and had to resist biting my lip.  
“Your father will be returning to see us tonight,” She announced in a whisper.  
“Why are you whispering?” I asked. I could barely contain my excitement.  
“I want it to be surprise for your brother. His birthday on Monday, but we are going to celebrate tomorrow. Your father is returning tonight as an early birthday surprise,” she told me in a whisper.  
“Is there anything that I can do to help with the party?” I whispered eagerly.  
“It’s all been settled. All you need to do is enjoy yourself and don’t tell your brother. Keep it a secret,” she answered in a commanding whisper.  
She touched her forehead to mine and quickly left the room and closed the door behind her. I nearly squealed in delight. My father was coming to see us.  
It was so incredibly hard to focus on the show as I tried to watch it once more. I was forced to get up and decided to leave the room. Draco followed me as I left the room. He trailed behind as I entered the living room where Liodus was still playing games with the two other boys. I noticed that my mother had cleared their used plates and empty sodas from the table. I could hear her humming as she was washing the plates in the sink.  
“Do you want to play in the next round?” Liodus asked as I watched their match from behind the couch.  
“I can do that. Pass me a controller,” I confirmed as I seated myself on the available couch cushion beside Orion.  
“Are you good at gaming, too?” Orion asked.  
“She is a someone to be wary of,” Ty warned him.  
“Well, we’ll see,” He remarked darkly.  
Twenty minutes later and I had wiped the floor with them and claimed absolute victory.  
“Totally unfair,” Liodus groaned.  
“Did you know that would happen?” Ty asked Liodus.  
“Well, I didn’t expect her to win that easily,” he answered passively.  
I was blushing and didn’t expect this type of response. I was just playing the game to the best of my ability.  
“You are brilliant,” I heard from beside me.  
Orion was looking directly at me and he looked pleased despite losing himself. I blushed even more deeply despite being confused by his response.  
“Tha-Thank you,” I stuttered nervously.  
“Liodus I think that your friends should leave. You both need to start working on your homework,” Our mother commanded as she entered the room.  
The two of them left and I was fidgeting nervously. I couldn’t wait till my father came home and I didn’t know if I could concentrate on homework just now. I made my way up the stairs and forced myself to work on it with some musical accompaniment. Liodus joined me in my room and he seated himself on my bed. We helped each other on with our respective homework assignments due to having almost all the same classes. I wasn’t sure that would be the same next year since he was turning twelve and I was going to be eleven. He was ten months older than me. It had been already been two months since we’d last seen our father. I wondered what time he would arrive.  
“What has your mind wandering so much?” Liodus interrupted my state of deep thought.  
“I was thinking about track again,” I lied.  
“That is good and all, but what about Algebra?” he asked in an almost annoyed tone. He wasn’t annoyed by me, but his by his Geometry homework.  
“I am working on it,” I defended as I used the F.O.I.L. method to create a quadratic formula.  
“Do you have any idea on how to start this one? I remember everthing after the third step,” he asked stressfully.  
“Trigonometry is the one you should really be worried about,” I commented as I looked at his problem. I flipped to the page of his textbook that mentioned that very concept he was trying to work out. “Here it is.”  
“Thank you.”  
We continued in this manner until about 6:54 when our father returned home. I had been paying extra attention to noise and I saw my Varren get up and make his way toward my bedroom door. He bounded down the stairs and I hopped off the bed to follow. Liodus followed us and he was standing behind me midway down the stairs as our father opened the door. He was wearing a formal set of clothes that were black with yellow accents.  
“Father!” my brother exclaimed and leapt from behind me into our father’s arms. They hugged for a moment and then Lunnus looked up at me. “Are you going to give me a hug or just keep staring at me?” he demanded.  
I smiled and walked down the stairs and he held us in a super tight hug against his chest. He stopped squeezing when he noticed my mother standing there. She was dressed equally as extravagant with a sparkling black gown with blue sparkling flowers that trailed along the seams from her waist to her ankles. She wore some blue sparkly fabrics to cover her arms, legs, and neck. The Turian species were always covered up with layers of fabric, but my mother managed to make my father’s mandibles hit the floor every time that she dressed up.  
“Welcome home, my love,” Anosi greeted her spouse. I felt like an intruder in the room as he stepped away from both of us and crossed the room to her.  
“We should go upstairs,” my brother whispered to me. I nodded and we made our escape.  
“I am super ecstatic that father is home, but I am sure mother would like him to herself right now,” he admitted to me.  
“I am just happy that we’re all together again. Especially since it’s your birthday in two days,” I responded enthusiastically.  
“I will be eleven. Only four more years and I will be in the military,” he stated unemotionally.  
“I don’t know what will happen. I might have to leave as soon as I hit puberty,” I told him fearfully.  
He looked concerned and took a moment to think and then he said,” then we will have to spend every moment that we all have together doing what we love so we are left with nothing to regret.”  
“As long as you’re my brother I will be happy,” I told him emotionally.  
He hugged me and we both laughed. I felt a little awkward voicing my emotions so freely. I often kept to myself, but I could tell that I was becoming less like that due to Liodus and our family. I was able to trust these people and I felt safe. My nightmares were less frequent at least.  
Suddenly our father popped his head around the open doorway. He spoke,” I will see you kids in the morning. Your mother and I are going out for little bit. We’ll be back before you go to bed.”  
Our mother popped her head over his shoulder to add our instructions, “Don’t forget to finish your homework, dinner is downstairs waiting at the table, and make sure to brush your teeth!”  
“We will!” We both chanted obediently.  
“Love you both!” my mother called out just before running down the stairs.  
“See you in a few hours!” My father shouted from further down steps. Our mother had dragged him by the hand when she had started running and he was forced to go with.  
“They are so silly,” My brother commented while shaking his head. He looked happy that they were back together.  
“At least they love each other. My human parents were never like that,” I told him.  
“Are you remembering more?” he asked.  
“Sometimes. I just don’t like to think about. Even life before the war was hard for me,” I stated gloomily.  
“Then we won’t talk about it until you’re ready. You’ll tell me eventually,” he replied as he laid back on my bed and stared at the ceiling.  
I smiled and our night continued peacefully. It was late when we both went to bed by ourselves because our parents hadn’t returned home. Liodus told me that they often lost track of time when the first day of shore leave. He had two weeks and the first day was always dedicated to his mother.  
The lovebirds even slept through breakfast and Liodus used his omnitool to request food money by sending them a message at eleven when we couldn’t take it anymore. Mother sent us a virtual reservation for the restaurant down the street. “At least she remembered to book a place that was food friendly for both of us since she is that done under,” he remarked.  
I frowned in response and we both went to the restaurant where she was waiting for us to throw him his eleventh birthday party. Liodus looked completely shocked and I could see he looked slightly ashamed about his comment only moments ago.  
“How did you escape the house without me noticing?” Liodus asked them.  
“We climbed out of the window,” Lunnus admitted.  
Some of the boys from school were here I noticed as I scanned the room. Our parents had rented out the restaurant and I could spot Rynox and Tirax hanging out on the upstairs balcony overlooking the restaurant. And I noticed a familiar flash of metal. “Garrett!” I shouted as I made my way across the room without hesitating.  
I then saw the curly brown hair, the freckles, and a pair of friendly eyes, one silver and one green. “You made it!” he greeted me with a smile.  
“I didn’t know that you would be here,” I told him honestly as I hugged him.  
He hugged me back. “My family was on shore leave and your mother reached out to us. She invited me,” he explained thoroughly as he stepped back.  
I looked over at her and she was watching. She waved at us and I smiled awkwardly back. I was blushing.  
“This has got to be the best party I have every been to,” I declared happily.  
“Why is that?” he asked with a smile.  
“Almost everyone I love is here. Almost all the people who really matter,” I decided.  
“Who’s missing?” I heard another familiar voice. I blushed deeper as I turned around rapidly to see ice blue eyes staring back at me.  
“Who is this, Shepard?” Garrett asked me. He looked at Orion dubiously. Garrett didn’t approach meeting new people as easily. I could emphasize.  
“This is Orion Tandas. He is one of my classmates,” I said gesturing to the Turian. I was a little annoyed he had been listening in on our conversation.  
“Nice to meet you,” Orion bowed his head respectfully.  
“This is my best friend Garrett Moreau,” I introduced him to Orion. Why was I doing this? Shouldn’t I be running away?  
“So, do you play any sports, Shepard?” Garrett asked nervously.  
“I think I will join the track team,” I answered.  
“Our team could use you,” Orion commented approvingly.  
“You would be good at it despite your handicap,” Garrett approved.  
“Did something happen?” Orion asked.  
“No. He means due to my prosthetics,” I told him as I leaned down to tap my fabric covered steel calf.  
“I have some, too,” he said as he placed a hand on his left shoulder. “It was my dominant arm. I am still trying to learn how to write with the new hand. It’s pretty difficult,” he continued as he wiggled the fingers on his robotic hand. His prosthetic hand looked so real, but I imagined it was steel like mine underneath the fabric. His prosthetic had been linked to his entire system, so he had full functionality.  
“I lost a portion of my brain,” Garrett told him.  
“And your eye,” I added helpfully as Liodus walked over to us.  
“What are you talking about?” he asked as he stood next to me. Ty had followed him and was standing between Garrett and Orion.  
“We were comparing injuries,” I reported.  
“That’s pretty grim,” Ty responded.  
Liodus’s left mandible twitched. “It happens,” Liodus shrugged casually.  
Our parents decided to come over as well. “Hello everyone,” my mother greeted us. I happened to catch a glance and Ty’s face and he looked a little stunned. It seemed my mother was not just attractive to my father. I tried to shake the thought from my head and grasped my brother’s hand.  
“Hope everyone is having fun,” my father said as he gave the room and our friends a quick sweep with his calculating eyes.  
“We’re having fun,” Ty said after he held a silent consensus with Garrett and Orion.  
“This party is pretty cool,” Liodus affirmed. I nodded in agreement.  
“Just wait till we eat,” my father stated in anticipation.  
“It’s only food, Father,” Liodus pointed out skeptically.  
“Except this time, we were able to use ingredients directly sourced from Palaven!” Lunnus countered.  
I shook my head and watched as my father stole my brother away and described to him all the treats that awaited him. “Don’t worry we had the restaurant make you some waffles,” My mother told as she took my hand. I took Garrett’s hand and he smiled as he followed us and left our other companions following our hand linked line to the dining room.


End file.
